
Class _BNAiX_l 
Book 7T^ 

Copyright N° 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



A Manual 

of 

Elocution and Expression 

for 

Public Speakers and Readers 

Especially Adapted for Use by Theological 
Students and Clergymen 



By 

The Rev. Albert Francis Tenney, M.A. 

Instructor in Elocution, etc., at the General Theological Seminary, 

New York, and at the Berkeley Divinity School, 

Middletown, Connecticut 



New York 

E. P. Dutton & Company 

3 1 West Twenty-third Street 
1905 






LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies titxvivv. 

APR 28 iyu5 




Copyright 
E. P. DUTTON & CO. 

1905 



Published in April, 1905 



To 
THE STUDENTS 

IN THE 

GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 

AND THE 

BERKELEY DIVINITY SCHOOL 

WHO BY THEIR EARNEST AND SYMPATHETIC ATTENTION 

HAVE CONTRIBUTED MUCH TO THE SUCCESS 

OF MY EFFORTS IN THEIR BEHALF 



PREFACE 

THIS manual is written, primarily, for immediate 
use in my own classes, there being no other text- 
book of sufficient scope and proper arrangement for 
this purpose, since Dr. Russell's Use of the Voice in 
Reading and Speaking is no longer published. With 
such intention, it needs no apology, for there is little 
in it which has not been already tested in actual in- 
struction. It is adapted to young men. If any, 
not my pupils, get any help from it, that fact will 
only add to my hope that the reading and the ora- 
tory in our churches may, erelong, be relieved from 
the adverse criticism now so liberally bestowed by 
laymen, who, in most cases, are scarcely aware of 
the amount of study and practice necessary to make 
any man a master of the utterance of his own tongue. 
It is admitted that the elocutionary power of the 
clergy is far from what it should be. No one can 
emphasize this defect more than I do. For this 
reason, I believe that a vital error lurks in the 
theory, sometimes urged, that all that is necessary 



VI PREFACE 

for a student to achieve in his seminary course is to 
"get started in elocution," and then work out his 
own success. This book is planned to train those 
who are diligent in the use of it — completely, or, at 
least, to such an extent that no important principle 
of delivery shall need any further attention than 
what is given by experience in continuing the cor- 
rect habits already acquired. It needs, like any 
other text-book, the help of the living voice of the 
instructor, and is, in fact, only an outline of the 
matter taught, so numerous and minute are the de- 
tails of the training required. Every student of 
elocution needs, also, special diagnosis, special treat- 
ment and encouragement, which, by a system of 
private, individual instruction, are given in the 
seminaries where the substance of this book is now 
used. 

No claim is made for originality in this presenta- 
tion of an art which has been ably expounded for 
ages. But it is mainly out of the author's own ex- 
perience, not compiled, even in many passages which 
closely coincide with the teachings of others, and 
for which, therefore, no credit is given. If there 
are any special features, these may be found in the 
emphasis placed upon the muscular basis of breath- 
ing, which may be referred to works on anatomy, 



PREFACE Vll 

rather than to those on the voice; the emphasis 
placed upon the singing tone and upon rhythm ; also 
the large number of practical exercises. The ar- 
rangement of the instruction indicated is intended 
to be constructive and progressive to the end, with 
frequent references, at new points, to preceding 
work. 

The primary standard of expression is found in 
natural conversation. I believe, also, that no 
achievement in elocution can, by practice, be made 
to excel what has been sometime accomplished by 
some one possessing the highest natural gifts. The 
entire method of the work indicated, therefore, is 
claimed to be natural. Vocal culture first receives 
the larger amount of attention, for the reason that 
the vocal organ should be developed before it is 
much used for purposes of general expression. Two 
of our most famous orators in the last century, 
Wendell Phillips and Henry Ward Beecher, were 
trained according to this theory, before they began 
to win their brilliant successes in public. It is a 
maxim of every art that technique precedes expres- 
sion. Without technique an orator or reader may 
be, more than he suspects, like the man who, when 
asked if he could play on the violin, replied, "I 
don't know, but I can try." We have suffered too 



Vlll PREFACE 

much, in our chancels and pulpits, from untutored 
delivery and from incomplete or too unevenly 
specialized training. 

Without attempting to record the influence of 
many authorities from which information or sugges- 
tion has been drawn, I make special acknowledgment 
of indebtedness to the Rev. Francis T. Russell, 
D.D., — my friend and predecessor, — who gave full 
permission to quote from his Use of the Voice in 
Reading and Speaking, and to use certain exercises 
in Vocal Culture ; also to the veteran elocutionist, 
Mr. Alexander Melville Bell, whose treatment of 
consonants in his Principles of Elocution has been 
copied, with some of his illustrations, by his kind 
permission; and to S. S. Curry, Ph.D., President of 
the School of Expression, Boston, whose Literary 
and Vocal Interpretation of tlie Bible has been an in- 
valuable inspiration. 

Albert Francis Tenney. 

January 25, 1905. 



CONTENTS 

[The illustrative quotations are indicated by italics.] 
PART I 

VOICE PRODUCTION 
CHAPTER I 

THE VOCAL MECHANISM 



SEC 

I 


TION 

Tone 


PAGE 

1 


2 


Parts of the Body Involved in Tone- Production 


2 


3 


Fundamental Power in Tone- Production 


2 


4 


Outer Muscular Case, The .... 


2 


5 


" Action of . 


4 


6 


" Contents of 


5 


7 
8 


Diaphragm, The 

" Consciousness of 


5 
5 


9 

IO 

ii 


Lungs, The . . . . . 

Larynx, The ...... 

" Interior of, Vocal Cords, etc. 


6 

7 
8 


12 


Vocal Cords, Movements of the 


8 


*3 


Laryngeal Mechanism, Delicacy of 
Resonant Cavities, The .... 


8 
9 


15 


" Names, etc. 


9 


l6 


Resonant Mouth, The .... 


10 


17 


Head, " .... 


10 


18 
19 


Pharynx, " 

Chest, " ... 


11 
11 


20 


Summary 


11 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER II 



THE OPERATION OF THE VOCAL MECHANISM 

SECTION PAGE 

21. Need of Training, The . ... 12 
Elocution, Definition of . . . . .13 

22. Muscles Involved in Utterance, Use of . .13 

23. General Physical Training . . . .14 

24. Muscular Exercises without Apparatus . . 15 

25. Breathing Exercises . . . . . 17 

26. " , Remarks on ..... 22 
Jean de Reszke and Henry Ward Beecher . . 24 



CHAPTER III 






APPLICATION OF BREATH-PRESSURE TO TONE-PRO- 


DUCTION 




27. Singing Tone, The ..... 


25 


28. Exercises in Tone- Production 




28 


Vowel Tables A and B 


. 


28 


29. Resonance, Exercises in 


. 


3i 


" 1. Frontal 




32 


" 2. Middle 




32 


j. Pharyngeal . 




32 


" 4. Covered Tone 




33 


5. Nasality, To Correct 


33 


6. Enlarging the Voice 


35 


Opening the Mouth too Widely 


• 35 


7. Complete Tone- Form 


36 


8. Of the Chest 


36 


30. Tone- Placing 


• 38 


" Definition .... 


38 


1. Forward, Exercise 


39 


2. Middle, Exercise . 


40 


3. Pharyngeal, Exercise . 


40 


Morning Hymn to Mont Blanc, Cc 


ileridge 


■ 4i 



CONTENTS 



XI 



SECTION 

31. Tone-Color, Definition, etc. 
" " 1. Grave 



32- 



33- 



34. 



Pitch. 



Power 



The Sea — Lord Byron 

2. Orotund 
From These Walls — Everett 
The Love of Liberty — Everett 

3. Sympathetic 
We Watched Her Breathing — 

Thomas Hood 
The Death of Little Nell — Dickens 

4. Aspirated .... 
The Stillness of Night — Byron 
Military Commands — Anon. 

5. Blended .... 
The Church of God — De Koven 
The Murderer' s Conscience — Webster 
Vocal Aids to 

Exercises 

Low, Middle, and 
Slide or Change of 
Semitone 
" Pitch of the Room " 



High 



" Cautions 
" Exercises 

" Eloquence of John Adams — Webster 
11 Notes on Power and Weakness of Voice 
Quality and Quantity of Voice 



PAGE 

42 
45 
45 
46 
48 
48 
49 

5o 
5i 
53 
54 
54 
55 
55 
56 
59 
59 
60 
61 
62 
62 
64 
64 
65 
65 
67 
68 



PART II 



35- 



ENUNCIATION 

CHAPTER I 

VOWELS 

1. Bell's Vowel Table (C) 

2. Diphthongal Vowels 



70 
72 



Xll 



CONTENTS 



36. 



37- 



1. Standard Authority for Sound of Vowels 

2. Vowels and Consonants in Enunciation 
j. Vowels, Certain Provincialisms, etc. 



Vowel Exercises 
Thanatopsis — Bryant 
The Aspirate H. 



PAGE 

72 

73 
73 
74 
74 
75 





CHAPTER II 






CONSONANTS 




39 


Consonants or Articulations 


77 


40 


How Produced 


77 


41 


Bell's Table (D) 


79 


4- 


Further Classifications . 


80 


43 


Exercises in Articulation .... 


80 




" Transitions in Articulation 


82 




Difficult Words, etc. . 


83 




How the Water Comes Down at Lodore— 






Southey .... 


84 




Separating Repeated Elements 


85 


4 + 


Articulation, Helps to .... 


86 


45 


Strength and Sharpness of 


86 



CHAPTER III 

VOCAL DEFECTS 

46. Stuttering, Stammering, Hesitation, etc. 

" Remedies for 



87 
88 



CHAPTER IV 
ERRORS IN ENUNCIATION 



47. I. Errors in Vowels 

2. " " Consonants 

3. " " Syllables 



90 
94 
94 



CONTENTS 



Xlll 



CHAPTER V 
PRONUNCIATION 

SECTION 

48. Pronunciation, The Standard of 



PAGE 

96 



PART III 

ADAPTATION OF VOICE TO THOUGHT AND 

SENTIMENT 









CHAPTER I 








INFLECTION 




49. 


Means of 


Adaptation 




.... 


98 


5°. 


1. The Inflections 

2. Inflection, Slide of 






98 
99 


5i- 


" 


Degrees 


of 




100 




a 


< < 


' 3d, 4th, 5th, etc. 


100 




<< 


« 


' Semitone 
' Monotone 
' Suspended or Partial 


IOI 
IOI 

102 


52. 


The Uses of Inflection 






103 






< « 


" " 


1. 


Principal Points . 


103 






4 " 


" " 


2. 


Distinction of Meaning 


104 






1 << 


" " 


3- 


Antithesis . 


104 






1 a 


" 


4- 


Completion . 


104 






< tt 


<< <« 


5- 
6. 

7- 
8. 

9- 
10. 
11. 


Group (Over- Inflection' 
Series . 

Restrictive Phrases, etc 
Verbs of Saying . 
Ranges of Inflection 
Not Prescribed 
Value of Inflection 


104 

104 

105 

105 
106 
106 
106 






( << 


<< n 


12. 


Faults in Inflection 


107 



XIV 



CONTENTS 



SECTION PAGE 

53. Exercises in Inflection . . . . .108 

Ossian's Apostrophe to the Sun. — McPherson 

(Extract) . . . . . . .108 

Conquest of Mexico (Extract). — Prescott . .109 

History of New York. Diedrich Knickerbocker. — 

Irving . . . . . . .110 

Toussaint V Ouverture. — Wendell Phillips . . no 
Brutus, in Julius Ccesar. — Shakespeare . . 112 

Coriolanus. — Shakespeare . . . . .112 

Shylock, in Merchant of Venice. — Shakespeare . 113 



CHAPTER II 



EMPHASIS, INCLUDING STRESS 



54. 


1. Emphasis Defined 

2. Analyzed 
Word Emphasis 

" Radical 
" Median 








114 

us 

115 
116 
116 




" Vanishing 






. 


117 




" Compound 








117 




" Thorough 








117 


55- 


Uses of Word Emphasis 








117 




Burial of Moses. — Alexander 






119 




What Constitutes a State. — Sir William Jones 


120 




Tremulous Stress ..... 


121 


56. 


Uses of Sentence or Phrase Emphasis 


121 




" " " " " " Exercises 


122 


57- 


Cumulative Emphasis 


124 




The American Union. — Webster 






125 


58. 


Degrees of Emphasis 






126 


59- 


False Emphasis, and Examples 
Distributed Emphasis 






127 
128 




Subordination of Emphasis 








132 







CONTENTS 


XV 






CHAPTER III 








RHYTHM 




SECTION 




PAGE 


60. 


Rhythm Explained ... 


134 


6l. 




Analyzed 




135 


62. 




Quantity 




138 


63- 




Accent 
Measure 
Metrical Feet 




I40 
141 
143 


64. 




Phrase 




147 


65- 




Movement 




I50 






Behind Shut the Postern, etc. — Browning 


152 






Ccesafs Activity. — Knowles 


152 


66. 


«• 


Melody 


154 


67. 


" 


Use of ..... 


156 


68. 




Exercises . . • . 


157 






PART 1 


V 





GESTURE 



69. G 


ssture, Its Scope and Meaning . 


• 159 


70. 


Analyzed .... 


160 


7i- 


of Attitude .... 


160 


72. 


" the Head .... 


162 


73- 


" " Face .... 


162 


74- 


" " Hands 


164 


75- 


General Qualities 


. 166 


76. 


" Particular Uses 


167 


77- 


and Occasion 


171 


78. 


" Exercises .... 


172 




Speech by Abraham Lincoln 


172 




Spartacus to the Gladiators. — Kellogg 


I • 175 




Parrhasius. — Willis 


. 176 



XVI 



CONTENTS 



PART V 



LITURGICAL USE OP THE VOICE 



CHAPTER I 





GENERAL PRINCIPLES 




SECTION 


PAGE 


79- 


Vocal Expression in the Services . 


• • 177 


80. 


Liturgic Spirit, The .... 


. 178 


81. 


Reality of True Expression • 


. 180 


82. 


Intoned or Choral Service 


. 182 


83- 


General Caution .... 


• 183 



CHAPTER II 

APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION TO 
THE LITURGY 



84. 


Reference to Former 


Pri 


nciples . 


184 


85- 


Extemporaneous Prayers 


. 187 


86. 


Propriety of Practising the Liturgy 


190 


87. 


Notes on the Services 






■ 19 1 




" " " " 


I. 


Sentences 


191 




" " 


2. 


Exhortations 


194 




" " " 


3- 


Concerted Portions 


198 




<< (« (< (< 


4- 


Absolution, The 


200 




a << (< <t 


5- 


Versicles, The 


201 




" " 


6. 


Antiphonal Portions 


201 




<< (< « < u 


7- 


Canticles, The 


202 


88. 


Prayers, The 






203 


89. 


Litany, The 




.... 


207 


90. 


Holy Communion, The 


. 


212 


91. 


Burial Service, The 




. 


21S 



CONTENTS XV11 

PART VI 

THE PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

CHAPTER I 

THE GENERAL SPIRIT AND MANNER OF THE READING 

SECTION PAGE 

92. Purpose of the Bible, etc. . . . . .227 

93. Preparation for Reading, The .... 228 

94. Physical Attitude, Voice, etc. .... 230 

95. Elocution, The . . . . . . -231 

CHAPTER II 

ADAPTATION OF THE READING TO DIFFERENT STYLES 
OF COMPOSITION 
96. 



Classification of 


Styles ... 


234 


" " 


" 


1. Narrative and Descrip- 








tion 


234 


<< a 


" 


2. Didactic, The 


238 


<< 


" 


j. Oratoric, The 


243 


<« «< 


i i 


4. Prophetic, The 


247 


C( <« 


" 


5. Epic, Dramatic, and 








Lyric 


247 


<< << 


" 


6. Allegoric, The 


250 


H (( 


" 


7. Prayer, The Style of . 


251 



PART VII 

PULPIT ORATORY 

CHAPTER I 

THE PURPOSE AND METHOD 

97. Consecrated Oratoric Spirit , . . .253 



XV111 


CONTENTS 








CHAPTER II 




SECTK 


THE FUNCTION OF PREACHING ANALYZED 

)N 


PAGB 


9 8. 


Personality ...... 


255 




1. Spiritual Culture . 




255 




2. Mental Training . 




256 




j. Physical " 




257 




4. Consciousness 




257 




5. Naturalness 




258 




6. Imagination 




260 




7. Freedom from Imitation 




26l 




On Imitation — Phillips Brooks 




26l 


99. 


Relation of Style to Delivery 




262 


IOO. 


Voice and Gesture .... 




264 


IOI. 


General Requisites, Life, Clearness, Power 




265 


I02. 


Practical Details .... 




265 



CHAPTER III 

IS IT BETTER TO USE MANUSCRIPT OR NOT? 



03. The Question Discussed 

Conclusion — Oratoric Reading 

CHAPTER IV 



269 
273 



COURSE OF PREPARATION 

104. The Order of the Course 

On Preaching — Prof. Williston Walker 



274 
275 



APPENDIX 

I. Pronunciation of Scripture Proper Names . 

II. List of Scripture Proper Names 

III. Words Often Mispronounced 

IV. Passages from the Bible Quoted or Referred to 
V. Care of the Voice 

VI. Notes 



279 
280 
287 
290 
294 
296 



A Manual of Elocution and 
Expression 



PART I 

VOICE PRODUCTION 

[Under this heading are included tone, the shaping of tone into 
speech, and all physical means of effective delivery.] 



CHAPTER I 

THE VOCAL MECHANISM 

I. Tone, in speaking or singing, is produced by 
the pressure of the air which is voluntarily forced 
from the lungs upon the vocal cords in the larynx. 
This pressure causes a vibration of those cords, 
which, in turn, induces a vibration of the air in 
sound waves, in the throat and head, in the wind- 
pipe, the bronchial tubes, and the upper part of the 
lungs. The operation of the vocal cords is practi- 
cally involuntary, or the result merely of an inten- 
tion to utter tone, and of the habit of speech, 
acquired by imitation in learning to talk. The 
breath-pressure below the larynx, and the form and 



2 VOICE PRODUCTION 

resonance of the tone effected above the larynx, are 
subject to the control of the will, and are susceptible 
of development by scientific training. 

2. In studying the production of tone, therefore, 
there are three principal sections of the body to be 
considered : (i) the trunk, including the chest and 
the abdomen, (2) the larynx, (3) the head, with its 
resonant cavities and organs of articulation. 

3. The trunk is concerned with tone, a as the 
reservoir of air in the lungs, and b as the means 
of producing breath-pressure upon the vocal cords. 
Its action is, therefore, the fundamental power in 
tone-production. It may be divided (in respect to 
its relation to tone) into (1) an outer case of strong, 
elastic muscles, attached to the bones of the chest 
and supported by them, capable of working in 
every direction ; (2) the contents of the outer case, 
including the intestines, the diaphragm, and the 
lungs, 

4. The outer muscular case or system consists of 
{a) The abdominal muscles, capable of pressing up- 
ward, downward, and transversely in two directions 
on either side. They extend around the body to 
the spine, and downward to the pelvic bones. They 
are attached to those bones and, above, to the car- 
tilages of the six lower ribs. They are governed or 



THE VOCAL MECHANISM 3 

led, in the more active abdominal movements, by 
the most powerful one, the musculus rectus abdo- 
minis, which extends from the lower end of the 
sternum, or breast-bone, where it is attached to the 
cartilages of the fifth, sixth, and seventh ribs, to 
the lower end of the abdomen, where it is attached 
to the pubic bone. It will be observed that this 
structure makes it to be strongly fixed at its lower 
extremity, where it narrows to two tendons; and 
of a most flexible character at its upper extremity, 
where it broadens out in its attachments to cartilages. 
Its action in expiration is inward and upward. 
(b) The intercostal muscles, between, within, and ex- 
terior to the ribs. They are very complicated in 
their structure and action; but it is sufficient to 
state that they draw the ribs upward or downward, 
together or apart, especially the five lower ribs, 
which are not directly connected with the sternum. 
When properly controlled, they make the thorax or 
chest a flexible air -reservoir, instead of a rigid box. 
The intercostals are the chief agents in the move- 
ment of the ribs in ordinary respiration." {Gray s 
Anatomy. ~\ (c) The dorsal muscles, especially those 
below the ribs, at the waist, of great strength but 
less activity, useful in holding the abdominal and 
intercostal muscles in any fixed position, besides 



4 VOICE PRODUCTION 

strengthening the general position of the body in 
standing, and assisting a forced expiration, {d) The 
breast muscles. They are connected with the upper 
part of each arm and are employed especially in 
forced inspiration. Their common use is to hold 
the upper part of the chest in a firm position, "thus 
affording a fixed point for the action of the muscles 
of the chest." 

5. All the parts of this muscular system are con- 
nected, in series, and can be made to act all together, 
or with individual prominence; but no one of them 
can be extended or relaxed without involving adja- 
cent muscles, to some degree. This system, as a 
whole, involves the entire surface of the trunk. It 
has its greatest activity in the first of the series, as 
here described, and diminishes to the minimum, 
in its effect upon breathing, as it comes to the 
spine, the collar bones, and the shoulder blades. 

"The ordinary action of expiration is merely 
passive, the resilience of the ribs and the elasticity of 
the lungs producing a tendency to a vacuum. 
This causes the ascent of the abdominal viscera 
covered by the diaphragm. Forced expiratory 
actions are performed mainly by the flat muscles 
(pbliqui and transversalis) of the abdomen, assisted 
also by the rectus." — {Grays Anatomy. ~\ 



THE VOCAL MECHANISM 5 

6. The contents of the outer, muscular case are 
(i) the abdominal viscera, (2) the diaphragm, (3) the 
lungs. 

The abdominal viscera include the intestines, the 
kidneys, the liver, the stomach, etc., an elastic 
mass, upon which the abdominal and lower inter- 
costal muscles exert various kinds and degrees of 
pressure, so as to produce a further pressure upon 
the parts above them. 

7. The Diaphragm is the great interior muscle 
concerned in breathing. It is thin but powerful, 
extending through the body, like the floor of a 
building, between the abdominal viscera and the 
lungs, a "partition wall " between the abdominal 
and the thoracic cavities. It is attached to the in- 
terior surface of the lower ribs and also to the spine. 
It is slightly convex toward the lungs in the act 
of inspiration, more convex in the act of expiration. 
In inspiration it contracts or flattens itself and in- 
creases the chest cavity. In expiration it relaxes, or 
arches upward, and decreases the chest cavity. But 
neither of these movements is accomplished without 
the co-operation of the abdominal and intercostal 
muscles. 

8. If we have any consciousness of the movement 
of the diaphragm, it is very slight and is easily con- 



6 VOICE PRODUCTION 

founded with the necessary co-ordinate movements 
of adjacent external muscles. It is better, there- 
fore, to consider it as involuntary in its own move- 
ment, as it certainly is in ordinary breathing, for 
vital purposes only (see § 5), and to realize the pres- 
sure which it exerts upon the base of the lungs, 
in strong expiration, by the action of the abdominal 
muscles, pushing inward and upward, either slowly 
or with sudden force. The diaphragm is unseen and 
unfelt and in practice is best ignored, like the vocal 
cords, which, in proper health and moderate use, are 
also unseen and unfelt, although both are vital to 
tone-production, and the involuntary action of each 
is well known. 

9. The Lungs. — Although in two parts, right and 
left, they may be treated, in the utterance of tone, 
as one elastic reservoir of air. In shape they are 
like truncated cones with the bases resting upon the 
diaphragm. 1 Extending up to just beneath the 
collar bones, and much narrower than the bases, are 
their apexes, between which is the trachea, or wind- 
pipe, dividing below the apexes, right and left, into 
the bronchial tubes which subdivide and ramify 
throughout the lungs. These are the means of 

1 The pleura surrounding the lungs is not mentioned, because not 
concerned in the muscular action. 



THE VOCAL MECHANISM 7 

conveying sound-vibration into the lungs, in making 
what is called the chest-tone. 

The air can enter or leave the lungs only by the 
aperture of the larynx, and therefore can be sealed 
up within the lungs by the voluntary closure of the 
larynx, at the glottis, or by the shutting down of 
the epiglottis, a soft cushion-like cover at the top 
of the windpipe. This is always closed while one is 
swallowing food, and always open during the pro- 
cess of breathing, speaking, or singing. 

All these internal parts are in close serial connec- 
tion and can be affected, as a whole, or in part, by 
external muscular pressure. 

10. The Larynx. — The larynx is a hollow, carti- 
laginous body, at the top of the trachea, or wind- 
pipe. It is familiarly known as the "Adam's 
apple." For simple, practical knowledge of its lo- 
cation and form, press the finger on the windpipe 
at the end of the collar bone. Notice its ring-like 
structure. Move the finger upward until a more 
prominent ring is felt. This is a part of the larynx 
— the cricoid cartilage. Next, pressing upward, find 
the greatest prominence — the thyroid cartilage. It 
is composed of two parts, right and left alee, forming 
an angle with each other, within which, in the front, 
are the vocal cords, the so-called false vocal cords, 



8 VOICE PRODUCTION 

and, above these, the epiglottis, or lid of the voice- 
box. The opening between the vocal cords is called 
the glottis. These principal parts, and others that 
need not be mentioned here, are all connected to- 
gether by cartilages or muscles, so as to work co- 
ordinately in speaking and singing. 

ii. The interior of the larynx and the action of 
the vocal cords can be inspected only with the aid 
of the laryngoscope, a small mirror held in the back 
of the throat, which reflects the vocal cords, when 
the epiglottis is raised in breathing or in uttering a 
sound. By this instrument can be seen, also, the 
small muscles (arytenoid, etc.) which control the 
movements of the vocal cords, and the two folds of 
soft mucous membrane, outside of the "true" cords, 
which are called the "false" cords, because they are 
not concerned in the production of sound, unless, 
perhaps, in whispering. 

12. The true vocal cords are seen, by the laryn- 
goscope, to assume a variety of degrees of tension, 
length, and closeness of contact, during phonation. 
The size of the larynx determines the length of the 
vocal cords, which are longer in men, to produce 
lower and fuller tones, and shorter in women and 
children, to produce higher and thinner tones. 

13. All this mechanism is so delicate and compli- 



THE VOCAL MECHANISM 9 

cated that we cannot safely attempt to modify its 
action, or increase its strength, except by careful 
vocal exercises, based upon the natural utterance 
of tones, and without distinct consciousness of 
the mechanism itself. The tones produced by the 
vibration of the vocal cords alone are very feeble. 
They must be increased by the resonance of the air 
in the thorax below, and, still more, of the air in the 
cavities of the throat, mouth, and nose, the reso- 
nance acting against the solid parts of the chest or 
head as tones of a violin against its body or sound- 
ing-board. 

14. The Resonant Cavities. — We examine these in 
the order of progression from the simplest to the 
most complicated, — from that which produces the 
lightest resonance to that which produces the heavi- 
est. Most vocal resonance is made above the larynx. 

With the mouth shut, the resonant cavities of the 
head are all closed except the nasal passages, and 
the only sound that can be produced is a hum. But 
with the mouth open, all the resonant cavities be- 
come available. Their use is under the control of 
the will and is essential to any definite quantity or 
quality of tone. 

15. The resonant cavities are (1) the mouth, (2) 
the nose, (3) the pharynx, or throat, (4) the chest. 



IO VOICE PRODUCTION 

The first three engage the head, in part or entirely, 
as a sotuiding-board. The fourth engages the outer 
muscular structure of the chest in the same manner. 
The first and third are nearly filled by the tongue 
when the mouth is shut. 

1 6. The Resonant Mouth. — With the tongue de- 
pressed and the lower jaw relaxed so as to part the 
upper and lower teeth, a space is left in front of 
the soft palate, bounded by the tongue below, by the 
cheeks and teeth on the sides, and by the smooth, 
hard roof of the mouth, above. Here is the easiest 
resonance for vocal purposes, and the one that is 
nearest, and therefore the most helpful, to the tip 
of the tongue, the teeth, and the lips in articulation. 
To realize this resonance, pronounce the words 
spoon and speech, with lips thrust out. The reso- 
nance will be distinctly felt in this cavity and espe- 
cially at the front of it. Most efforts concerned in 
normal utterance focus there. 

17. The Resonant Head. — In correct tone-produc- 
tion, some of the air passes out through the nasal 
cavities (behind the soft palate) and resonance is 
added to the tone by the pressure of the vibrating 
current against the solid parts of the nose. In ex- 
tremely high notes of a soprano voice this resonance 
is increased in small cavities of the head above the 



THE VOCAL MECHANISM II 

nose. In all fully resonant tones of man or woman, 
the nasal resonance is increased by a sympathetic 
vibration through the structure of the head, as a 
whole. 

1 8. The Resonant Pharynx. — This is the space 
back of the soft palate and uvula, opening below at 
the epiglottis, forward between the fauces, or pillars 
of the soft palate, and above at the passages to the 
nose. This cavity can be realized by humming with 
the tongue so spread against the roof of the mouth 
as to close the mouth in the middle and to direct 
the air and the tone through the nose. 

19. The Resonant Chest. — This includes the wind- 
pipe, the bronchial tubes, and the upper part of the 
lungs, engaging the outer case, ribs, and muscles as 
a sounding-board. It can be realized by singing a 
low bass note, A or G. Its use is frequently un- 
known to men with untrained high tenor voices. 

20. The means for the production of tone, as so 
far described, furnish the material, so to speak, 
which is finally shaped into vocables (the elements 
of words) by the organs of articulation, i. e. t the 
palate, tongue, teeth, and lips. These are so fa- 
miliar by their necessary use, as to need no explana- 
tion, except in connection with their training, for 
which, in detail, see Part II. 



CHAPTER II 

THE OPERATION OF THE VOCAL MECHANISM 

21. The Need of Training. — No public speaker 
should be contented with the merely natural, or, 
rather, habitual use of his instruments of voice pro- 
duction. Every one of them (and there are many, 
as shown in Chapter I.) should be trained in order 
to develop natural powers to their full capacity, and 
to correct errors of use from which scarcely any one 
is free. The method and possibilities of develop- 
ment will appear in the exercises given in this chap- 
ter. Faults and the methods of correction will also 
be described. It may be safely asserted that few 
voices are incapable of fine elocutionary or oratoric 
effects if thoroughly trained. But some need far 
more training than others. It is urged upon every 
candidate for the ministry that he test himself by all 
the standard possibilities of the voice, and resolve 
to secure the complete and proper command of his 
organs of speech, to the degree that orators need, 

12 



OPERATION OF THE VOCAL MECHANISM 1 3 

before his ordination, leaving nothing to haphazard 
"experience," or to irregular, undirected, inexpert 
practice afterward. As the late Senator G. F. Hoar 
said, after a lifelong observation of public speak- 
ing, " The voice is sometimes nine tenths of the 
speech." 

Elocution, as presented in this book, is not, essen- 
tially, imitation, nor mechanical performance, nor 
the fruit of impulsive expression, but the result of 
such education of natural organs and abilities as will 
enable the individual speaker to do his best in his 
own characteristic way. It may be defined as the 
effective vocal expression of thought and feeling. 

22. The Use of the Muscles Involved in Utterance. 
— In general, the whole body may be regarded as 
the basis and instrument of tone, to give position, 
firm support, and full resonance to the vibration 
produced in the larynx. The unavoidable fatigue 
from long-sustained speaking or singing can be and 
should be distributed over the whole body, and 
not injuriously concentrated upon the delicate parts 
of the larynx and throat. In a standing position, 
the exercise of any muscle, even of a single finger, 
will involve, more or less, the rest of the body, 
especially when repeated, by the connection which 
is maintained in breathing, blood circulation, nerve 



14 VOICE PRODUCTION 

activity, etc. All this general support is subsidiary, 
however, to the more special activity of the muscles 
of the trunk. If all those muscles are in proper use, 
there is no necessary consciousness of strain upon 
the muscles of the larynx, throat, or tongue. 
These may be pushed on, so to speak, to sufficient 
action, without conscious tension, by the breath im- 
pelled from below. 

23. General Physical Training. — An athlete may 
more easily become a good speaker because of his 
muscular training. To secure effective use of the 
voice, one must be somewhat athletic. Assuming 
that a man has a normal physique, a sound consti- 
tution, and good health, let him take sufficient daily 
exercise in lodging or gymnasium, and out of doors, 
to maintain strength and activity in all parts of the 
body. Walking, running, climbing, wrestling, fenc- 
ing, boxing, practice on suspended rings and paral- 
lel bars, are valuable, all but the first involving 
special deep breathing. Dumb-bell exercises and 
others of the same class supplement the more vio- 
lent movements by requiring the use of many small 
muscles, with moderate exertion. 

For training without apparatus, sufficient for 
many who have been athletic, go through the fol- 
lowing exercises (all or a part) daily before exer- 



OPERATION OF THE VOCAL MECHANISM 1 5 

cising the voice, observing these rules throughout : 
(i.) Keep the mouth shut, and pay no such attention 
to the breathing as will divert attention from the 
muscular exercise. Good, deep breathing will be 
involuntary. (2.) After one or two minutes of prac- 
tice, according to vigor, sit down and relax completely 
for an instant. This checks fatigue and increases 
power. Relaxation is as important a principle in 
the muscular basis of tone-production as tension, as 
appears, later, in the course we are outlining. 

24. Muscular Exercises, without Apparatus : 

Exercise 1. The erect position, A. Stand firmly on 
both feet, heels together, hands at sides, shoulders 
square, with strong muscular tension from head to 
feet. B. Relax and walk a few steps, then take 
position A suddenly, as if at word of command. 
Repeat until the sense of perfect poise is obtained, 
and becomes familiar. This exercise prepares one for 
(a) correct breathing, (b) gesture, (c) oratorical poise. 

Exercise 2. Starting from position A (above), turn 
the head about, slowly, with firm tension of neck 
muscles. 

Exercise j. Starting from position A, bend the 
trunk firmly, — forward, backward, sideways, — as far 
as possible, without bending the legs. 

Exercise 4.. Lie flat on the back and, keeping the 



IO VOICE PRODUCTION 

legs extended, rise to a sitting posture, if possible 
without using the hands to assist. This strengthens 
the abdominal and dorsal muscles. 

Exercise 5. Supported by the tips of the fingers 
and the toes, face downward, alternately lower and 
raise the body. 

Exercise 6. Standing on the balls of the feet, 
lower the body to a sitting position (in the air) and 
raise it suddenly, with a vigorous spring, to erect 
position A, in Ex. 1. 

Exercise 7. Touch the floor, or come as near to it as 
you can, with the fingers, without bending the knees. 

Exercise 8. Inflate at waist with full breath, hold 
the position, and tap the muscles smartly. Do the 
same with inflated chest. 

Exercise g. For the legs. — a. Starting from posi- 
tion A (Ex. 1), extend each leg, in turn, to the front, 
muscles contracted, as if pushing or supporting a 
weight, balancing firmly on the other leg. b. As in 
A, extend each leg, in turn, to right and left, hold- 
ing it as high as possible, c. Extend each leg, in 
turn, behind, as high as possible, d. Raise and lower 
the body by toe action ten times, coming back each 
time to position A (Ex. 1). 

[These leg exercises secure command of the fundamental 
position for the orator and his gestures.] 



OPERATION OF THE VOCAL MECHANISM 1 7 

Exercise 10. For the arms. — a. Extend each arm, 
in turn, as if holding a weight, with open palm, 
muscles contracted, b. Thrust the fists straight 
above the head, downward, right, and left together 
from the shoulders, c. First extending the arms in 
front to their full length, swing them around until 
they touch behind the back (or nearly so), d. Bring 
the fists up to the head — throw them down in re- 
verse motion, opening the palms, upward, with 
vigor, as the arms come to a horizontal position 
from the elbow. Let the forefinger be straight, the 
two middle fingers together, the little finger a little 
apart, and the thumb at an angle of about sixty 
degrees from the line of the arm. Repeat ten times, 
bringing the hands to final position as you count 
one ! two ! etc. e. With arms extended in front, 
elbows bent, turn the loose hands over rapidly, as if 
whirling them, and finish the motion, repeated four 
times, with the palm position as in d. 

[d and e train the arms and hands for gesture.] 
Note. — The muscular exercises, or parts of them in turn, 
omitting none in the series, may at first take ten minutes at a 
time, twice daily. When the next series of exercises is under- 
taken, these may be shortened to five minutes. 

2 5 . Breathing Exercises .*. 

Note. — Breathing as used for vital purposes only is not 
sufficient for tone-production. In that exertion the breath must 



18 VOICE PRODUCTION 

be reinforced and controlled by the use of the muscles of the 
trunk, so as to produce definite pressure. The movements of 
natural breathing begin in the muscles, not in the air or the 
lungs. 

Exercise i. Lie flat on the back, with thumbs on 
lowest ribs, fingers on front of abdomen. Take a 
slow, full breath, expecting to observe motion first 
under the hands. Notice that the abdomen rises 
and the ribs expand, the lowest the most, the others 
in decreasing ratio until the upper part of the chest 
is only slightly expanded. The motion of the ribs 
is felt the most at the sides of the trunk, midway 
between the front and rear attachments of the ribs 
{sternum and spine). The shoulders are not lifted, 
nor the collar bones, and the upper chest is not raised 
until the waist is expanded. Exhale, and notice that 
the region under the hands collapses, the ribs falling 
in, and the abdomen flattening. This is the true 
order of movement in breathing. Master this exer- 
cise before taking any other. 

Exercise 2. Stand and breath moderately with the 
same movements as in Ex. 1. 

Exercise 3. For analysis of the muscular move- 
ments involved in a full breath. — a. Exercise the 
musculus rectus abdominis, which extends from the 
sternum to the lower end of the abdomen (see § 4) 



OPERATION OF THE VOCAL MECHANISM 19 

by taking a full breath, as before, and then, with 
mouth open, expelling the breath forcibly, as in 
a deep sigh, by pressing inward and upward with 
this muscle, to which give concentrated attention, 
ignoring for the time the fact that other muscles act 
with this. Repeat this with vigor until the muscle 
comes under perfect control, and can be contracted 
enough to flatten the abdomen to the utmost 
degree. 

Note. — This use of the muscle is not identical with its mo- 
tion in tone-production ; but the exercise is important to give it 
the high degree of strength and flexibility especially required in 
long sustained and explosive tones. The active use of this 
muscle alone can often prevent strain on the throat. The result 
of the above exercise is to give it requisite power for forcible 
tone-production without any apparent motion. 

b> Exercise the oblique and transverse abdominal 
muscles by expelling the breath with a motion first 
on the right side, then on the left, so as to make a 
cavity there, below the ribs (keeping position A, 
Ex. 1, § 24). 

c. Put the attention on all these abdominal muscles, 
and expel the breath by their combined action. 

Note. — There cannot be much vibrancy of voice without 
tension and pressure of abdominal muscle. 



20 VOICE PRODUCTION 

Exercise 4.. Of the intercostal muscles (see § 4, 
b). With hands pressing on the lower "floating" 
ribs, exhale, then take full breath and feel a power- 
ful pressure outwards against the hands. Carry the 
expansion upwards as far as it can go without lifting 
the upper chest, but allowing it to be raised by the 
expansion. Repeat this exercise until it becomes 
habitual as a part of the breathing movement. 

Exercise 5. Of the dorsal muscles. With full 
breath, expand as in Ex. 4, with the thumbs pressed 
on the small of the back, and repeat until those 
muscles are found to be as firm as the biceps. Firm, 
erect position is necessary here. 

Note. — In this exercise all the muscles of the back, up to the 
shoulder blades, are involved and will be felt more and more by 
repetition. In the most vigorous breathing and expiration, even 
the muscles of the back of the neck are in tension. But all 
these muscles of the back are only a brace to the rest, not a 
motive power to the voice. It must be thoroughly understood 
that almost all the activity of the vocal mechanism is in the front 
of the body. 

Exercise 6. To combine all the previous exercises 
in one. 

a. Stand firmly on both feet with arms at sides, 
and, without moving shoulders or lifting chest, 
inhale (through the nose) slowly but so vigorously 



OPERATION OF THE VOCAL MECHANISM 21 

(with action of previous exercises) as to feel the ten- 
sion of the muscles from the feet to the head. 
(Some of these are concerned only with the braced 
position.) Attend — in order — to abdominal expan- 
sion, rib expansion from below upward, dorsal ten- 
sion, and raising the upper chest by inflation, until 
the whole trunk seems to be a reservoir of air, under 
muscular control. Set all the muscles involved for 
an instant, while holding the breath. Then exhale 
and relax quickly and completely. 

Note. — Repeat this exercise until a consciousness of the com- 
plete and symmetrical muscular support of the breath becomes 
habitual. This and the following exercises are the ones to be 
repeated after the foregoing are mastered and abandoned be- 
cause included in the later. 

b. Repeat a with this change : inhale by one quick 
gasp through the nose, filling the lungs instantly, 
and then exhale slowly, observing the reversal of 
controlled muscular movements in a during very 
gradual relaxation, in this order : I. Dorsal muscles. 
2. Abdominal muscles. 3. Intercostal muscles. 4. 
The falling of the upper chest. 

Note. — This order is most important to be observed, as by a 
slow expiration, pressed by the muscles, the tone is long sus- 
tained in speaking and especially in singing. 



22 VOICE PRODUCTION 

Exercise 7. For sustaining the breath in speaking. 
("Expand" indicates action of inspiration as in Ex. 
6.) 

a. Expand. Count with full voice, one! Re- 
lax, expand, and count one ! two ! (on one breath). 
Relax, expand, and count one ! two ! three ! and so 
on to ten or more as strength is acquired. 

Note. — In this exercise retain the air by keeping the ribs ex- 
panded as much as possible all the time, even when counting 
ten or more, until a fresh breath is needed, and push the air out 
through the vocal cords by a quick pressure of the abdominal 
muscles as before described. The ribs must collapse, but very 
little and very gradually. 

b. Same as a, with the addition of a relay or 
partial breath at ten, fifteen, or twenty. Thus: 
count ten ; then relax the sides a little and take in 
a small supply of fresh air, in an instant, without 
delaying the counting, — eleven! etc. 

26. Remarks on Breathing. — a. In all the breath- 
ing exercises, see that there is no perceptible tension 
about the throat or tongue. This is vitally im- 
portant. &. It is important that as the throat and 
glottis are opened at the instant of the beginning 
of the inspiration, so during an expiration there 
should be the sensation of an unobstructed open 
channel from the bottom of the lungs to the lips 



OPERATION OF THE VOCAL MECHANISM 23 

and nostrils. If there seems to be any obstruction, it 
should be removed by relaxing the tongue or raising 
the soft palate, or by medical treatment, c. The 
breath, in actual practice, should not be held to any 
inconvenient or uncomfortable degree, and should 
be renewed as often as is needed — oftener than most 
speakers take it, without training. At the end of a 
paragraph, and sometimes sooner, the lungs should 
be emptied as much as possible (there is always a re- 
sidual supply in any living person), and a full breath 
should be taken, whether it seems to be needed or 
not. This will often prevent the sleepiness and dul- 
ness which occur to those reading long aloud, because 
of the lack of oxygen in the system. In the actual 
delivery of the voice, the breath-pressure should 
never be carried to the point of air-exhaustion. It 
is a good plan to breathe for every new impulse of 
thought or feeling. This makes a natural phrasing. 
d. If any dizziness occurs while taking breathing 
exercises, it is harmless, caused probably by the in- 
creased circulation, and may be cured, promptly, by 
resting a moment, or by reducing the vigor of the 
exercise, e. The set of the expanded trunk makes 
a drum, as it were, of the air-reservoir, upon which 
a very slight muscular movement, but a strong 
one, can produce the necessary breath-pressure for 



24 VOICE PRODUCTION 

tone-production. The principal stroke on this drum 
is from the abdominal muscles, which press the vis- 
cera against the diaphragm and reinforce its ordi- 
nary vital action ; while the continued expansion of 
the ribs, by the intercostal muscles, allows the dia- 
phragm to remain still stretched out to a degree, so 
as to keep the lungs sufficiently full, and the whole 
trunk resonant. 

Note. — The famous singer, Jean de Reszke, a master of 
breath-pressure and tone-production, acquired an extraordinary 
development of the trunk muscles, so that, as described by one of 
his intimate friends, he seemed to be able to force the whole 
lower part of the trunk upward and within the expanded chest 
" like one barrel thrust into another." 

Henry Ward Beecher's method : — "Training had given his 
voice great carrying power. His contemporary and friend, 
Dr. Joseph P. Thompson, once said to me that the secret of 
vocal power without vocal weariness is knowing how to use the 
bellows. Mr. Beecher knew how to use the bellows. He never 
strained his throat in vehemence of speech ; the throat was 
simply used to determine the quality of the tone ; the forceful- 
ness of it was given by the abdominal muscles." — From Life of 
Henry Ward Beecher, by Dr. Lyman Abbott. 



CHAPTER III 

APPLICATION OF BREATH-PRESSURE TO TONE- 
PRODUCTION 

27. The Singing Tone. — The tones of the human 
voice in speaking show so much variety in quality, 
power, and expressiveness that it is desirable to 
have some standard by which they can be observed 
in their best form. That standard is found in sing- 
ing only, because the singing tone, without conso- 
nantal interference, may be easily and uniformly 
sustained, long enough to be thoroughly observed 
as to its method of production, the physical sensation 
which accompanies its production, the distinguish- 
ing one quality or power from another, and its effect 
on the ear. In singing the sound a (as in father), for 
instance, the mechanism of the voice remains in the 
same position from the larynx to the lips, and the 
only change in the trunk is the gradual and uniform 
compression of the muscles in breath-pressure; 
while in articulating a word or words, the changes 
of position or action are many and continuous. 

25 



26 VOICE PRODUCTION 

Each singing tone, also, produces an individual 
and characteristic sensation in the body by its vibra- 
tions, and in the ear by both vibration and what is 
called timbre or tone-color, the ear being furnished, 
within, with a multitude of minute parts (as many 
as three thousand, it has been calculated) which are 
adapted to receiving and distinguishing as many 
varieties of sound. 

Tone is caused by beats, or vibrations, of air, set 
in regular motion by the vocal cords. Besides the 
primary vibrations which cause "simple tones," 
there are interferences with these, and additional 
vibrations in the head, causing what are known as 
harmonics or overtones. The human voice (Ency. 
Britt.) is analogous to a reed - pipe, the vocal 
cords forming the reed, and the cavity of the 
mouth the pipe; and, like the reed, it is rich in 
harmonics, as many as sixteen having been detected 
in a bass voice. These harmonics, whose effects 
are found in every good voice, are best observed in 
a singing tone, and they must be noticed, if one is to 
know and fully develop his own voice. The ear, 
through its fine mechanism, can be trained to feel 
these elements of tone, and then the fault can be 
corrected by experimenting, until the sensation of 
the true, harmonious tone, the richness of the voice, 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 2J 

can be felt. Must, then, every speaker be a singer? 
Yes, if possible, at least in an elementary degree. 
Singers most readily learn the refinements of tone, 
pitch, and modulation in speech. Those who have 
never sung are generally deficient in intelligent con- 
sciousness of the tones they utter. It has been said 
of a few great orators and actors that they could not 
sing a note (which statement may be questioned), 
and yet possessed the power of melodious speech. 
But, with regard to such cases, it is enough to say 
that they appreciated music in speech, as their de- 
livery has proved. Absolute ' ' tone-deafness' ' hardly 
ever occurs. Tone-dulness is often found. 

Singing of the diatonic scale, therefore, is a most 
essential practice to teach a dull ear pure tone, 
pitch, and even inflection. It should not be omitted 
from elocutionary training, for even to singers it 
affords an opportunity to correct and develop their 
speaking tones by comparing them with the best 
they can produce, — the singing tones. 

Note. — It may be added that with the study of one's own voice, 
it is well to give careful attention to the positive beauty of tone in 
singers of acknowledged eminence, in trained choruses, and in 
the chief instruments of the orchestra, the latter displaying, most 
evidently, differences of tone ; e. g., purity and clearness — the 
flute, violin, French horn, etc. ; warmth — the violoncello, wood 
and brass instruments, moderately blown, and the last of these, 



28 



VOICE PRODUCTION 



brilliant power when played fortissimo. The value of this ob- 
servation of tone is definite, and often furnishes a much-needed 
musical culture. The singing tone is the true basis and standard 
for the speaking tone. Save the voice and add to its carrying 
power by the use of the singing quality of tone in speaking (not 
sing-song). Use all the breath that is emitted for tone. Keep 
the rest of it in the lungs. 

28. Exercises in Tone -production? proceeding from 
the singing to the speaking tone, chiefly with use of 
vowels, as in the following tables : 
Vowel Table — A 



a as in mate 


e as 


in mete 


5 as in note ii as in use 


a " 


ah 


e 4 


' met 


6 " wolf u " up 


a " 


fall 


I ' 


' pine 


6 " not u " put 


a " 


mat 


\ ' 


' pin 


00 " pool 
oi " toil 
ou " out 








Vowel Table — B 




[Use the vowel sounds in 


succession as in the four series] 




1 






11 


00 as 


in pool 




00 as in 


pool 


u 


" use 




6 " 


log {not " like a in ah, but shorter ") 


u 


" flute 




e " 


met 


6 


1 note 




I 


pit 


6 


" wolf 




u " 


up 


e 


' mete 




ea " 


pearl 


a 


1 mate 


in 


a " 


ask (not so broad as in arm) 

IV 




00 as 


in pool 




00 as in pool 




1 


4 pine 




a "ah 




oi 


1 oil 




a 4 ' pat 




ou 


' out 







1 See Note I, Appendix. 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 29 

Exercise 1. To prevent thro at -strain, — useful for 
any one, but especially to those inclined to guttural 
tones. 

While seated, take full breath, opening the glottis 
and beginning tone and breath- pressure at the same 
instant (' ' stroke of the glottis ' '), and sing at any 
convenient pitch, but lightly, 00-00-00, about four 
seconds, 1 and note the vocal sensation, but with the 
following precautions : 

1. Let almost all of the sensation of exertion be at the waist, 
in the breath-pressure, and diminish upwards in the intercostal 
and back muscles, ending at the upper part of the chest. 

2. Let the throat, vocal cords, tongue, etc., feel entirely un- 
strained, and let the tongue lie passive. The involuntary action 
of the laryngeal and adjacent muscles is sufficient. Never try 
to increase their action except by breath-pressure below, even in 
the loudest shout. 

3. Let there be a feeling of openness of the vocal channel 
from diaphragm to lips. 

4. Relax completely at the end of each exercise, and take 
several deep breaths. 

Exercise 2. Sing at any convenient medium pitch, 
00, u, o, three seconds each, one breath for each 
vowel. 

Exercise 3. Sing the diatonic scale with the vowel 

1 (The 00 sound cannot easily be made impure, and is the most 
" forward " sound. (See § 30, Ex. 1.) 



30 VOICE PRODUCTION 

a (as in ask, not as in father, which is likely to be 
guttural with many). Also with e and o. 

Either the instructor or a piano can furnish the intervals, if 
necessary, and the key-note, which may be middle C or the A 
below. Vary the pitch for exceptionally high or low voices, so 
that they can sing the scale through. Repeat more rapidly. 

Exercise 4.. Sing, as above, the chromatic scale. 

Exercise 5. Use the long vowels a, a, e, I, 6, u, 00, 
oi, ou, as follows: 

a. Sing each one three seconds, b. Sing each one 
as short as possible ("staccato"), c. Speak each one, 
with same quality of tone as in (a) and (b), and with 
falling inflection, thus : a a ! aM 

(b) corresponds to the usual length of a singing tone in speak- 
ing. This exercise carries the singing tone into speaking, with- 
out sing-song. Let it be repeated until the process is mastered. 

Exercise 6. With speaking voice and singing qual- 
ity, say the Vowel Table B (vowels only), each sec- 
tion, I, II, etc., on one breath, and gliding from 
00 to each vowel in turn with the least possible 
change of articulating position (as if all were one 
compound word). This exercise tends to keep all 
the vowel sounds as pure as 00. 

Exercise 7. Speak, vigorously, vowels in Table A. 
Speak them rhythmically, the same length of time 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 3 1 

to each, with separate breath-pressure for each one, 
and with falling inflection. (See § 25, Ex. 3, c.) 
See that the singing quality of the previous exer- 
cises is maintained. 

Exercise 8. Speak (as above) the Table A with the 
words, thus : a ! mate ! etc. 

Exercise p. To secure pure tone, or to correct 
false tone, in sentences : 

Sing a-a. Speak in same tone, but with required 
inflections: "All things remain under the control of 
the Creator of the world." 

Sing e-e-e. Speak in same tone, inflected : " I 
had a dream which was not all a dream." 

Sing 0-0-0. Speak in same tone, inflected : "They 
went and told the sexton and the sexton tolled the 
bell." 

Sing oi-oi. Speak in same tone, inflected: "Re- 
coiling and moiling and toiling and boiling." 

Note. — The above exercises, diligently practised and made 
perfect, will insure pure tone and melodious delivery, without 
sing-song and will prevent throat fatigue. 

29. Exercises in Resonance. — For the study of 
tone resonance we begin with the most forward part 
of the mechanism and work backwards, to prepare 
the way for tone shaping or placing (see § 30). 



32 VOICE PRODUCTION 

Exercise I. Frontal Resonance, — Hum m-m, etc., 
with mouth closed, first lightly, then forcibly enough 
to feel the vibration through the upper jaw and nose. 

Repeat with m-m-oo, m-m-e, m-m-u, letting the mouth open 
slowly at the vowel, and use enough breath-pressure to make the 
whole head ring with the tone — holding the head firmly by the 
rear neck muscles. In this way we get the sensation of Head- 
resonance, and of the overtones characteristic of the individual 
voice. (See § 27.) 

Exercise 2. Middle Resonance, — Hum m-m-a, m- 
m-6, m-m-I, as in Ex. 1, and note that the resonance 
is chiefly near the middle of the mouth. 

Exercise 3 . Pharyngeal Resonance. — Beginning 
with m-m-00 add m-m-a, m-m-a (awe), and m-m-&. 
These are felt to resound particularly in the back of 
the throat. 

Speak the same vowels alone and in words, as ah, 
fall, fat. 

The amount of this resonance depends upon the firmness 
with which the throat is held, — an elastic firmness, not rigidity, 
in such a way that the larger trumpet, so to speak, of the 
pharynx, is kept in form. 

Note A. — The tongue should be depressed to make room be- 
low, and the soft palate and uvula should be lifted to make 
room above and allow full and free emission of the tone. To 
realize this open position, sing a before a mirror. To assist 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 33 

the raising of the soft palate and realize the proper sensation of 
that position, lift the upper lip as in a sneer, or a sneeze, 
There is a co-ordination of movement between lip and palate. 

Note B. — The hinge of the epiglottis is near the root of the 
tongue. The opening of it is farther back. This shows that na- 
ture has provided that the current of air should strike the roof of 
the throat so as to be deflected in any direction, or at any angle, 
and that by such deflection it can be retained or, at least, re- 
tarded, for an instant, in developing full resonance. 

Exercise 4.. Sing and speak a, 6, a, e, I with soft 
palate relaxed or dropped, and with tongue as in 
Ex. 3, Note A. (The lips, also, should be loosely 
held in position.) This will give a softer resonance, 
the k> covered tone' of singing, the mellow or sym- 
pathetic tone of speaking. 

Note. — In practising pharyngeal resonance, avoid nasality. 
Nasal tones are produced by forcing the breath through ob- 
structed nasal passages. The nose may be considerably ob- 
structed by cold. etc. and yet the tone need not be nasal if the 
vibrating breath is emitted straight through the mouth, i.e., by 
adaptation for such emergency. In tone-production, nasality 
may be caused in two ways : 

1. By raising the soft palate so high as to make it press against 
the posterior nares and partly close them, and then trying to 
breathe out through them. 

2. By depressing the soft palate and drawing down the ' ' pil- 
lars of the fauces " so forcibly as to narrow the pharyngeal 
chamber and the passage to the nose. 

The first fault may be observed in a nasal pronunciation of 



34 VOICE PRODUCTION 

"cold" as " cobe." The second fault may be observed in a 
nasal pronunciation of " honk," with the back of the throat 
drawn stiffly down. 

Exercise 5. To Correct Nasality. — Open the mouth 
moderately, expand the nostrils while taking a deep 
breath, and then, with throat relaxed, pronounce, 
explosively, what / which ! who ! up ! cup ! etc. , 
until the production and sensation of a non-nasal 
tone are perfectly understood. 

Note A. — The proper opening of the pharyngeal resonance 
chamber is of the utmost importance in " orotund" and forcible 
speaking. (See § 31, 2.) Some voices are large because this 
chamber naturally opens fully. Some are small because of the 
opposite condition. A thin, narrow voice may be made broader 
by training a larger opening of the pharynx, i.e., by a greater 
lift and firmer control of the soft palate. 

Note B. — All the wails of this resonance chamber are soft and 
easily inflamed by cold or by over-exertion of the voice, and by 
failing to use properly, with this, the other resonant chambers. 
(See § 30, Tone-placing and forward tone.) 

Note C. — 1. Guttural tones are produced in the pharynx by 
stiffening the tongue so as to separate this chamber partly from 
the mouth and make the floor of the cavity too firm. This can be 
observed by curling the tongue up against the roof of the mouth 
and then saying " what ! " It may be called the hollow guttural. 

2. Guttural tones of a worse kind than the preceding are 
caused by the same stiffening, with also the contraction of the 
external muscles of the larynx, just under the chin. A growl 
will illustrate this action, which produces the harsh guttural. 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 35 

3. To cure a guttural habit, practise Ex. 1, § 28. 

4. A few such experiments as the above will show the neces- 
sity of subordinating, in the consciousness and the vocal action, 
the resonance of the throat to the resonance of the head, espe- 
cially that about the upper teeth and nose. 

Exercise 6. For enlarging the voice by opening 
the pharyngeal resonance chamber. 

Open the mouth and throat in a wide yawn. In- 
stantly, as the parts are allowed to begin to relax 
slowly, speak explosively the long vowels, a, e, 
1, 6, u, oi, ou, and then the short vowels, a, e, 1, 6, u, 
— each one with the lips coming into normal posi- 
tion as the pronunciation is finished. This exercise 
is sure to produce broad, full tones and shows the en- 
larging, driving, directing, and concentrating power of 
the flexible muscles in the walls of the pharynx, when 
thus suddenly closed from the most open position. 

Note. — Avoid too frequent use of a (ah) in exercises for 
opening the throat. It is the favorite vowel with teachers of 
singing, but as it opens the throat most widely, it is apt, with 
speakers (as well as a) without special care, to involve the contrac- 
tion of the posterior muscles of the throat, and, sympathetically, 
of the outer muscles of the larynx, so that the tone becomes 
guttural. The throat and mouth may be improperly opened, 
thus : A J^_ ~T\ i so as to bring the parts too close to- 
gether at B, near the glottis. It is better for it to open thus : 



A B, more at the back than near the lips. Hence 



36 VOICE PRODUCTION 

the danger of "opening the mouth as widely as possible" (in 
speaking) or "as wide as the breadth of two or three fingers," etc. 
Articulation will regulate the opening of the mouth, and must 
not be interfered with by any wide-open practice, a, 6, and u 
are safer to use, until due control of the pharyngeal resonance 
chamber is acquired, because their normal utterance checks an 
undue opening of the throat. 

Exercise y. Complete Tone-form. — Having exer- 
cised the different resonant chambers of the mouth 
and throat, use them all at once by a vocal effort 
which seems to fill out the whole tone-chamber 
above the larynx. The consciousness of the use of 
all the resonant space between the lips and glottis 
constitutes the sensation of the "orotund" delivery. 

Exercise. — Pronounce, explosively, who ! what ! 
why ! roll! all! quick! while ! wire ! our ! oil! and 
similar words, and note the sensation of a mouthful 
of reverberation, gathered in the throat, and con- 
centrated in a discharge at the lips. 

Exercise 8. Chest Resonance. — This is used in the 
lower part of the scale, in the average male voice from 
middle C of the bass clef down ; and in a few higher 
notes in tenor voices, but in those with very little 
resonance. It belongs to the lowest speaking tones 
only, when predominant. It is produced by the in- 
voluntary lowering of the larynx, and by the slight 
raising and particularly the side expansion of the 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 37 

upper chest (above the heart). This condition of 
the chest and larynx so holds the windpipe in a firm 
position that the vibration of the tone produced at 
the vocal cords is transmitted downward, and the 
upper chest becomes a sounding-board for the tone. 
In the chest tones the vibration should be percep- 
tibly felt. In practising this resonance great care 
must be exercised to avoid any tension or clutch of 
the throat muscles. The error of many bass singers 
and speakers is the harsh guttural of the lower 
tones. 

Sing and speak no deeper tones than can be kept 
smooth and pure. Guttural tones, though noisy, 
do not carry far, and are unsympathetic. 

Carry and feel some of the head tone down with the 
lower tones to the very lowest. This contributes 
the personal quality and compensates for the distin- 
guishable separateness of the lower vibrations. 

Let the sensation of the deepest tone be as easy 
and natural as breathing, except for the strong mus- 
cular breath pressure, which must increase as the 
pitch goes down, and which is far greater than is 
necessary for head tone. 

Exercise. A (Preparatory). — Take several deep 
breaths, exhaling slowly, with rib muscles firmly 
held as long as possible. 



38 VOICE PRODUCTION 

B. — Sing with breath-pressure (as in A), ah, awe, 
6, u, a, I, e (three seconds each), avoiding all effort 
beyond that in A. Repeat with successive lower 
tones to the lowest the voice can produce smoothly, 
increasing the effort only in strength and fulness of 
breathing. 

C. — Speak the same vowels and words containing 
them, as, calm, pall, tall, true, fail, time, treat. 

Note. — The above is a most important training for the 
smooth delivery of solemn passages, e.g., parts of the Committal 
in the Burial Service, such sentences as in Job 4: 13-17, in the 
Bible, and the most solemn utterances in sermons. It should 
be practised, especially, by those whose lower tones are rough 
or undeveloped. But, do not begin with a tone much lower than 
those already developed. Develop one lower tone at a time, in 
the regular sequence of the scale. 

30. Tone-Placing. — This term is figurative, not 
literal, because no tone stays anywhere, unless in 
the ear, but is adopted as most convenient to in- 
clude the shaping, directing, and focusing of the 
vibrating breath. "Tone-placing" has been much 
misunderstood, It is not done by a fixing of the 
larynx, which should always be free and easy in its 
action. It should not be accomplished with severe 
effort at any point, but should be as easy as the 
change of direction by a bird on the wing. 

Definition. — Tone-placing is the conscious direc- 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 39 

tion of the vibrating breath to some particular part 
of the roof of the throat or mouth, so as to produce 
there, at the instant of delivery, a resultant reso- 
nance, including any contributory resonance which 
has originated in chest, throat, mouth, or head. It 
is the choice and management of resonances. 

It is evident that by movements of the soft parts 
of the vocal channel above the larynx — the soft 
palate, tongue, and lips — it can be made to assume 
an infinite variety of shapes, and send the air-current 
on in many different directions, with corresponding 
results in tone. 

The following diagram represents the mouth, with 
dotted lines to indicate the principal directions of 
the vibrating breath : 

c D E F 



A, A, the lips ; B, the glottis ; C, the roof of the mouth just 
behind the teeth ; D, the middle of the roof of the mouth ; E, 
the roof of the throat behind the soft palate ; F, the nasal 



Exercise 1. For Forward Placing at C. — With the 
head easily poised, hum m-m-m. Repeat with m- 
m-00, m-m-e, m-m-e, m-m-u. Repeat with oo-pool, 



40 VOICE PRODUCTION 

e-meet, e-met, u-up. As the vowel sound is emitted, 
see that the lips are a little thrust out. Note the 
sensation of the front vibration, and the focusing 
of the breath at C. 

This placing involves the least expenditure of breath. 

Exercise 2. For Middle Placing at D. — Sing and 
speak a, o, u, with the mind concentrated upon the 
place D, and with the head held more firmly than 
in Ex. 1. Find the sensation of a vibration running 
up into the head in a line from the middle of the 
mouth to the eyebrows. Lift the latter a little to 
direct attention to this line. 

This is a larger, but less refined resonance than the frontal. 

Exercise j. For Pharyngeal Placing at E. — Open 
the mouth more widely than before ; sing and speak 
ah ! awe ! a, with head held up, firmly, and upper 
lip and soft palate raised (see § 29, Ex. 3, Note A). 

This placing includes, in effect, the middle and frontal, but 
predominates by its openness. It is far less musical, in speak- 
ing, than the frontal, and if used too prominently, gives a 
coarser tone. 

Exercise 4. Sing and speak the vowels in Table 
A, § 28, with an effort to utter them all with a 
placing as near as possible to that of 00, so that 
even a, a, and a shall have their resonance carried 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 41 

forward. Let the sensation be rather that of tast- 
ing than of coughing the sound. 

Note. — This is the most important placing for public read- 
ing and speaking ; for, by its combination of the gathering, 
concentrating, and directing power of the pharynx, with the final 
shaping by the articulating tongue and lips, it is the means of 
producing the most refined, characteristic, and far-reaching 
tones of the voice, with the greatest economy of energy, and 
the avoidance of throat fatigue. It should be assiduously culti- 
vated until mastered. 

Exercise 5. Speak the following passage with 
every word pushed forward in utterance to the 
degree of an assumed, pompous tone, with strong 
head resonance. When this is done, recite the same 
passage in a more natural tone, but still in that 
which contains the sensation of a frontal resonance. 

Morning Hymn to Mont Blanc. — Coleridge. 

"Thou too, hoar Mount! with thy sky-pointing 

peaks, 
Oft from whose feet the avalanche, unheard, 
Shoots downward, glittering through the pure 

serene 
Into the depth of clouds that veil thy breast — 
Thou too, again, stupendous Mountain ! thou 
That as I raise my head, awhile bowed low 

[softer voice] 

In adoration, upward from thy base 

Slow travelling with dim eyes suffused with tears, 



42 VOICE PRODUCTION 

Solemnly seemest, like a vapory cloud, 
To rise before me — Rise, O ever rise, 

[voice increasing in fulness to the end] 

Rise like a cloud of incense from the Earth ! 
Thou Kingly Spirit throned among the hills, 
Thou dread ambassador from Earth to Heaven, 
Great Hierarch! tell thou the silent sky, 
And tell the stars, and tell yon rising sun, 
Earth, with her thousand voices, praises 
God!" 

The reciting of the above extract is also a good exercise for 
the sustaining of the full breath. 

31. Tone-Color, also called Timbre. — Tone-color 
is the emotional modulation of resonance. It ex- 
presses feeling and imagination. The term color is 
preferred to quality as more expressive of the feel- 
ings — bright or dark, light or heavy, feeble or power- 
ful, etc. — which are indicated by changes of the 
voice. The term quality is limited to the perma- 
nent personal characteristics of the voice. Varia- 
tions of tone-color in the finest voices are instantly 
recognized by a sympathetic ear. In actual use of 
a trained voice, the speaker is more conscious of the 
moving feeling than of the method of expression — 
but does know that the instrument is ready for that 
expression. 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 43 

But some have little or no ear for tone-color. It 
is well for them to observe the "color " of the pre- 
dominant tones of an orchestra, which, by their 
marked distinctions, compel attention and apprecia- 
tion — e.g., the flutes, clarionets, strings, and brass, 
— and to notice the choice made of certain instru- 
ments to express joy, triumph, horror, sadness, 
tenderness, etc. 

The general quality of the voice should be pure, 
clear, smooth, and full, never thin or harsh, in all uses 
except the dramatic, — i. e., in the indication of ex- 
treme horror, terror, contempt, etc., with which this 
book has little to do. Previous exercises in tone-pro- 
duction have led to this accomplishment. Even in 
ordinary conversation, care should be exercised that 
these qualities of the voice are maintained. For it 
needs no argument to prove that in daily speech the 
tones should be expressive and agreeable. The 
same is true of the voice in public use, but in a 
special way and degree. The ' ' conversational tone," 
sometimes extolled as the proper one for public 
speaking, is generally inadequate there. It is bet- 
ter to talk as if making a speech than to deliver an 
earnest speech as if merely conversing (with occa- 
sional exceptions). For the essential power of a 
public reader or speaker lies in the more than 



44 VOICE PRODUCTION 

conversational projection and vibration of the voice, 
such as makes a stronger impression of the truth or 
sentiment to be conveyed than can be made by 
mere talking. 

If a voice is found to be habitually thin or gruff, 
the necessity for such a quality should not be ad- 
mitted, for a moment. Exercises should be taken, 
at once, to change the quality to a better one, 
and assiduously pursued until the habit has been 
changed. Some voices are also irregular in their 
quality, dropping or rising involuntarily to gruff or 
shrill tones. These flaws in tone may be called 
mere animal noises, — or not fully human. For such 
irregularities, a good remedy is the singing of the 
scale with uniform quality, followed by reading and 
speaking in the same tone-manner. Control over 
thought and emotion regulates tone-color, which 
has been called "the psychology of the voice." 

Cultivation of the finest qualities of the heart and 
of a kindly, sympathetic disposition will surely re- 
fine and beautify the voice. 

It is admitted that the possible varieties of tone- 
color are infinite, but, for purposes of training, three 
special qualities are sufficient, not including the 
conversational, which will inevitably enter into the 
others, with the personal characteristics of each voice. 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 45 

These three qualities are : 

/. The Grave, — expressing solemnity, reverence, 
awe, sublimity, deep sorrow, sad tenderness, and 
the like. This tone is low in pitch, sometimes as 
low as possible, full and round, with plenty of 
pharyngeal and chest resonance, but always kept 
pure by blending with it the subordinate head 
tone, as before described. 

Exercise 1. With strong, slow breath-pressure, 
sing and speak a, o, e, a, a. Speak strange, old, 
dream, calm, thought, fall, and similar words, with 
expression of strong feeling. 

Exercise 2. Recite in the manner of Ex. 1 the 
following passages, the first with full, intense tone, 
to express sublimity, the second with lowest pitch 
and less force, to express the deepest awe. 

/. The Sea. — Lord Byron. 

"Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, — roll! 
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain ; 
Man marks the earth with ruin — his control 
Stops with the shore; upon the watery plain 
The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain 
A shadow of man's ravage, save his own, 
When, for a moment, like a drop of rain, 
He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan, 



46 VOICE PRODUCTION 

Without a grave y unknelled, uncoffined, and un- 
known. 
Thou glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form 
Glasses itself in tempests ; in all time — 
Calm or convulsed, in breeze, or gale, or storm, 
Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime 
Dark-heaving — boundless, endless, and sublime. 
The image of eternity, the throne 
Of the invisible ; even from out thy slime 
The monsters of the deep are made ; each zone 
Obeys thee ; thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, 
alone. ' ' 

2. Job 4. : 13-17 

"In thoughts from the visions of the night, when 
deep sleep falleth on men, fear came upon me, and 
trembling, which made all my bones to shake. 
Then a spirit passed before my face ; the hair of my 
head stood up : it stood still, but I could not dis- 
cern the form thereof: an image was before mine 
eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, 
Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a 
man be more pure than his Maker? " 

2. The Orotund, — the tone of the orator in forci- 
ble passages, to some degree in all speaking. The 
predominant resonance is more forward than in the 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 47 

grave tone, and more brilliant and projective, be- 
cause of the greater pressure of the breath against 
the roof of the mouth. The whole tone-form also — 
i. e., the simultaneous use of all the resonant cavi- 
ties of the mouth and throat (§ 29, Ex. 6) — is filled 
with vibrating air, and the lips are active in articula- 
tion. This tone includes power, warmth, life, bold- 
ness, — the stronger persuasiveness, impassioned 
appeal, etc., in its purposes. "Orotund, as a quality 
of voice ... is the natural resonance of notes of 
the middle and lower Tenor, and the upper Bass 
register, when uttered in a round, full, and bold 
style, with the glottis freely opened, and all the 
circumjacent parts of the throat and mouth well 
expanded " (William Russell, Pulpit Elocution). 
The Orotund may be uttered in three modes : 

(1) Effusive, — full tone, but no special force. 

(2) Expulsive, — full tone with continued special 
force. 

(3) Explosive, — full tone pushed or exploded in 
all the principal words by quick, forcible breath- 
pressure. 

The first is used in passages that are to be heard 
by many people, with only moderate emphasis ; the 
second, in passages that require special and cumu- 
lative emphasis; the third, in passages expressing 



48 VOICE PRODUCTION 

defiance, excitement, or the greatest possible em- 
phasis. 

Exercise i. Speak forcibly vowels in Table A 
(§ 28) with strong head-resonance and with lips thrust 
out to make a trumpet of the mouth. Use full 
tone -form. 

Exercise 2. Recite the following passage with full 
orotund : 

From these walls a spirit shall go forth that shall 
survive, when this edifice shall be like an unsubstan- 
tial pageant faded. It shall go forth, exulting in, 
but not abusing, its strength. 7/ shall go forth , re- 
membering, in the days of its prosperity, the pledges 
it gave in the time of its depression. It shall GO 
FORTH, uniting a disposition to correct abuses, to 
redress grievances. IT SHALL GO FORTH, 
uniting the disposition to improve, with the resolu- 
tion to maintain and defend, by that spirit of un- 
bought affection which is the chief defence of 
nations " (Everett). 

"What was it, fellow-citizens, which gave to 
Lafayette his spotless fame? The love of liberty. 
What has consecrated his memory in the hearts of 
good men? The love of liberty. What nerved 
his youthful arm with strength, and inspired him, 
in the morning of his days, with sagacity and coun- 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 49 

sel? THE LIVING LOVE OF LIBERTY. To 

what did he sacrifice power, and rank, and country, 
and freedom itself? TO THE LOVE OF LIB- 
ERTY PROTECTED BYLAW. . . . Listen, 
Americans, to the lesson which seems borne to us 
on the very air we breathe while we perform these 
dutiful rites. Ye winds, that wafted the pilgrims 
to the land of promise, fan in their children's hearts 
the love of freedom ! Blood which our fathers 
shed, cry from the ground — echoing arches of this 
renowned hall, whisper back the voices of other 
days — glorious Washington ! break the long silence 
of that votive canvas; speak, speak, marble lips; 
teach US THE LOVE OF LIBERTY PROTECTED BY 

LAW!" (Everett). 

Also "The American Union," Webster, § 57. 

J. The Sympathetic. — This term indicates that 
tone for all speech in which emotion is intended to 
be more prominent than intellectual purpose. It is 
produced by a gentle, musical resonance, particu- 
larly the frontal. This is nature's own way ; for in 
the expression of great delicacy, tenderness, love, 
or sorrowful sympathy, the speech seems to be at 
the very lips, not reserved in the throat. Awe or fear 
has restrained, obstructed utterance, — emotional 
sympathy, a freer expression. 



$0 VOICE PRODUCTION 

Exercise i. Sing very lightly, on middle pitch, 
with covered tone, kept forward, oo, e, a, a, some- 
what prolonged. (See § 29, Ex. 4.) 

Exercise 2. Speak, sympathetically (as in Ex. 1), 
bloom, feel, father, mother, love, pity, home, heaven, 
weary , sorry, heart to heart, etc. 

Exercise j. Recite the following verses in the 
same manner, with suppressed breath : 

We Watched her Breathing. — Thomas Hood, 

"We watched her breathing through the night, 
Her breathing soft and low, 
As in her breast the wave of life 
Kept heaving to and fro. 

So silently we seemed to speak, 

So slowly moved about, 
As we had lent her half our powers 

To eke her being out. 

Our very hopes belied our fears, 

Our fears our hopes belied — 
We thought her dying when she slept, 

And sleeping when she died. 

For when the morn came dim and sad, 
And chill with early showers, 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 5 1 

Her quiet eyelids closed — she had 
Another morn than ours." 

Read, also, Genesis 44: 16-34. 

Exercise 4.. The expression sotto voce (in an under- 
tone), used in music, well describes a certain quality 
of the sympathetic voice, with subdued force, 
adapted to the most refined and delicate expres- 
sion. It should be rather thin than full, and con- 
trolled by suppressed breathing (a muscular control). 
(See § 29, Ex. 4.) 

Read in this manner : 

"There, upon her little bed, she lay at rest. The 
solemn stillness was no marvel now. 

"She was dead. No sleep so beautiful and calm, 
so free from trace of pain, so fair to look upon. 
She seemed a creature fresh from the hand of God, 
and waiting for the breath of life; not one who had 
lived and suffered death. 

"Her couch was dressed with here and there 
some winter berries and green leaves, gathered in a 
spot she had been used to favor. 'When I die, put 
near me something that has loved the light, and had 
the sky above it always. ' These were her words. 

"She was dead. Dear, gentle, patient, noble 
Nell was dead. Her little bird — a poor slight thing 



52 VOICE PRODUCTION 

the pressure of a finger would have crushed — was 
stirring nimbly in its cage ; and the strong heart of 
its child-mistress was mute and motionless forever. 
Where were the traces of her early cares, her suffer- 
ings and fatigues? All gone. Sorrow was dead 
indeed in her, but peace and perfect happiness were 
born; imaged in her tranquil beauty and profound 
repose. 

"And still her former self lay there, unaltered in 
this change. Yes. The old fireside had smiled 
upon that sweet face ; it had passed, like a dream, 
through haunts of misery and care ; at the door of 
the poor schoolmaster on the summer evening, be- 
fore the furnace fire upon the cold, wet night, at 
the still bedside of the dying boy, there had been 
the same mild, lovely look. So shall we know the 
angels in their majesty, after death." — Dickens, Old 
Curiosity Shop. 

Also, in the same manner, the Lord's Prayer, as it 
is said by the Minister alone before the Holy Com- 
munion, and "The Prayer of Humble Access," be- 
fore the Consecration, — but with no dramatic effect, 
as may be allowable in the "Death of Little Nell." 

Exercise 5. The following sentence from Dr. Rus- 
sell's Use of the Voice in Reading and Speaking may 
be used to illustrate different tone-colors and reso- 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 53 

nances: "But in the well-developed and flexible 
voice, each may be called forth at will — the gravity 
and bass of the manly chest notes, the healthful re- 
sonance, the agreeable mellowing, the incisive pun- 
gency, the fulness and finish, which are each fitly 
demanded in public speaking." 

Analysis : "But in the well-developed and flexible 
voice, each may be called forth at will ' ' [conversa- 
tional tone, comparatively colorless] ; ' ' the gravity 
and bass of the manly chest notes" [chest reso- 
nance, grave tone-color] \ "the healthful resonance" 
[full head-resonance and orotund tone-color] ; ' ' the 
agreeable mellowing ' ' [soft frontal resonance and 
sympathetic tone-color]-, "the incisive pungency" 
[quick enunciation, marked middle resonance, and 
explosive orotund]-, "the fulness" [full orotund]-, 
"and finish " [light frontal resonance, light or 
" effusive " orotund]. 

4. Another tone quality, hardly a color, for excep- 
tional and chiefly dramatic use, may be mentioned 
here — the aspirated, or the whisper and half- whisper 
(stage-whisper). It is not regarded as important in 
elocution, because aspiration of the voice, and con- 
sequent waste of breath and of sustaining power, is 
a frequent fault. The following passages may be 
used for practice : 



54 



VOICE PRODUCTION 



/. Effusive Whispering 

The Stillness of Night. — Byron. 

" All heaven and earth are still — though not in sleep, 
But breathless, as we grow when feeling most ; 
And silent, as we stand in thought too deep : — 
All heaven and earth are still: From the high 

host 
Of stars to the lulled lake, and mountain coast, 
All is concentr'd in a life intense." 

2. Expulsive Whispering 

Military Command. — Anonymous. 

'* Soldiers ! You are now within a few steps of the 
enemy's outpost. Our scouts report them as 
slumbering in parties around their watch-fires, and 
utterly unprepared for our approach. One dis- 
orderly noise or motion may leave us at the mercy 
of their advanced guard. Let every man keep the 
strictest silence, under pain of instant death!" 

j. Explosive Whispering 

Military Command. — A nonymous, 

" Hark! I hear the bugles of the enemy! They 
are on their march along the bank of the river. 
We must retreat instantly, or be cut off from our 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 55 

boats. I see the head of their column already 
rising over the height. Our only safety is in the 
screen of this hedge. Keep close to it ; be silent ; 
and stoop as you run. For the boats! Forward!" 

All of the above passages may be recited, also, in a half- 
or stage-whisper. 

5. Different tone-colors may be blended in vari- 
ous degrees and ways, one of them being generally 
most prominent. In the examples quoted below 
let the first color be more emphasized than any 
succeeding. 

Exercise 6. For the orotund-sympathetic : 

The Church of God. — Dr. James De Koven. 

"I see a vision stately fair of the one church of 
God. Built on the foundation of the apostles and 
prophets, with Jesus Christ for its chief corner- 
stone, I see it rise before me. Built in its walls as 
living stones are the martyrs of God, the bishops 
and doctors, the poor and unknown, little children 
and virgin souls. With many a blow and biting 
sculpture each stone is laid. Now one and now 
another is called to take his place — the bishop who 
has gone to his rest, you and I. Unfinished yet, 
with neither sound of hammer nor instrument of 



56 VOICE PRODUCTION 

steel, [sotto voce] in silence wonderful, it rises still. 
[More sympathetic.'] As I gaze, the mists of earth, 
or else the tears that blind my eyes, or murky 
clouds that gather I know not whence, shut out the 
view. But as I strain my weary sight, lo ! [more 
orotund] the clouds are rifted, and from heaven 
descending comes the New Jerusalem, like a bride 
adorned for her husband. The two are blended 
into one. [Both qualities emphasized.] The gates 
are pearl; the streets are gold; the crystal waters 
shine; the tree of life is full of healing leaves. 
There are no weary controversies, or bitter words, 
or cruel misunderstandings, or mistaken divisions. 
There are hymns that know no discord, worship 
that never ceases, praise that never ends, and the 
Lamb of God to be our joy and peace, for ever and 
ever. ' ' 

For the ^ra^-sym pathetic : Job 4: 13-17. 

For the ^raw-orotund : 

The Murderer 's Conscience. — Daniel Webster, 

" He has done the murder — no eye has seen him, 
no ear has heard him. The secret is his own, and it 
is safe ! 

"Ah! gentlemen, that was a dreadful mistake. 
Such a secret can be safe nowhere. The whole 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 57 

creation of God has neither nook nor corner, where 
the guilty can bestow it, and say it is safe. Not to 
speak of that eye which glances through all dis- 
guises, and beholds everything, as in the splendor 
of noon, — such secrets of guilt are never safe from 
detection, even by men. True it is, generally 
speaking, that 'murder will out.' True it is, that 
Providence hath so ordained, and doth so govern 
things, that those who break the great law of 
heaven, by shedding man's blood, seldom succeed 
in avoiding discovery. Especially in a case exciting 
so much attention as this, discovery must come, 
and will come, sooner or later. A thousand eyes 
turn at once to explore every man, everything, 
every circumstance, connected with the time and 
place ; a thousand ears catch every whisper ; a thou- 
sand excited minds intensely dwell on the scene, 
shedding all their light, and ready to kindle the 
slightest circumstance into a blaze of discovery. 
Meantime, the guilty soul cannot keep its own 
secret. It is false to itself; or rather it feels an 
irresistible impulse of conscience to be true to itself. 
It labors under its guilty possession, and knows 
not what to do with it. The human heart was not 
made for the residence of such an inhabitant. It 
finds itself preyed on by a torment, which it dares 



58 



VOICE PRODUCTION 



not acknowledge to God nor man. A vulture is de- 
vouring it, and it can ask no sympathy or assist- 
ance, either from heaven or earth. The secret 
which the murderer possesses soon comes to possess 
him ; and, like the evil spirits of which we read, it 
overcomes him, and leads him whithersoever it will. 
He feels it beating at his heart, rising to his throat, 
and demanding disclosure. He thinks the whole 
world sees it in his face, reads it in his eyes, and 
almost hears its workings in the very silence of his 
thoughts. It has become his master. It betrays 
his discretion, it breaks down his courage, it con- 
quers his prudence. When suspicions, from without, 
begin to embarrass him, and the net of circumstance 
to entangle him, the fatal secret struggles with still 
greater violence to burst forth. It must be con- 
fessed, it will be confessed, there is no refuge from 
confession but suicide, and suicide is confession." 

For the orotund - grave - sympathetic, Rev. 7 : 
9-17. For various tone-color, John 20: ii~i8, 
especially in V. 16 — "Mary!" [grave-sympathetic] 
and "Rabboni!" [tender joy and confidence]. 
Luke 15; 21 — pathos in the word "Father." 

Note i. — None of the above extracts from Bible or sermon 
should be carried to dramatic extreme, but should be suggestive 
rather than fully and realistically expressive. 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 59 

Note 2. — For thorough and ready application of tone-color to 
changes of sentiment, three vocal aids must be at command : 

1. Breath-restraint, for subdued and intense expression. 

2. The Vanish of Certain Vowels (§ 37), for finish and refine- 
ment of expression. 

3. The Vanish of Power (§ 33), for control of quantity of 
expression. 

32. Pitch. (For definition, etc., see § 27.) 

1. The ability to take different degrees of pitch in 
speaking must be acquired in order to correct any 
characteristic monotony, and to command full use 
of inflection, emphasis, and tone-color. 

Exercise 1. a. Sing the diatonic scale to each 
vowel in turn (§ 28, Table A). 

b. Sing diatonic scale to a, a, e, 6, T. 

Exercise 2. Speak long vowels throughout on one 
note, then on a note higher, etc. 

Exercise 3. Recite: 1. With rise of pitch on each 
succeeding vowel, a, e, I, o, u, y! and a, e, T, o, u, 
y? 2. The same, with/#//of pitch on each succeed- 
ing vowels. 3. The same, with rise and fall of 
semitones. 

2. Pitch, in speaking, is divided into low, middle, 
and high. These are relative terms. In an indi- 
vidual voice let the low and high pitch be found 
according to the corresponding yWzVz^*. The middle 
pitch can then be found between those two. For 



60 VOICE PRODUCTION 

class exercises the lowest pitch may be F, below 
the bass clef, the highest G. 

In the following exercises the note selected is the initial pitch, 
from which variations will continually be made, for purposes of 
expression. The exercises are not to be intoned nor, necessarily, 
monotoned. 

Exercise 4.. For Low Pitch. — Recite, "Roll on, 
thou deep and dark blue ocean — roll," first in lowest 
possible speaking tone (but pure), then on two or 
three notes next above, in succession. 

[The full quotation for further practice may be 
found in § 31.] 

Exercise 5. For Middle Pitch. — Recite, "Earth, 
with her thousand voices, praises God! " on two or 
three different, initial, notes (full orotund). 

[The full quotation is in § 30.] 

Exercise 6. For High Pitch. — Recite, with initial 
pitch at G : 

"Higher still and higher, 

From the earth thou springest, 
Like a cloud of fire, 

The deep blue thou wingest, 
And singing still, dost soar, and soaring, ever 
singest. 

Ode to a Skylark, Shelley. 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 6l 

j. Exercise J For Change or Slide of Pitch, 
Change: 

(High) "Strike! till the last armed foe expires! 

Strike for your altars and your fires ! 
(Middle) Strike for the green graves of your sires ! 
(Low) God and your native land ! " 

(Change gradually, also, from head to chest reso- 
nance.) 

The upward slide connects thoughts, the downward separates. 

Slide (Upward). In each sentence and from each 
sentence to the next : 

"Shall we adopt the measures proposed by this 
speaker? Are the arguments which he has ad- 
vanced sufficient to produce conviction? Can we 
proceed with perfect confidence that we shall not 
have to retrace our steps? " 

Slide (Downward) : 

(Middle) "I heard a voice from heaven, saying 
unto me, Write, from henceforth blessed are the 
dead who die in the Lord. Even so, saith the 
Spirit, for they rest from their labours." 

(Pitch sliding down from "Even" to the end.) 

Note i. — High voices should practise these exercises mostly 
in the upper part of the scale, and low voices in the lower — not 
to strain out of natural compass. 



62 VOICE PRODUCTION 

Note 2. — But — every high voice should develop and use a 
relatively low tone, and every low voice a relatively high tone. 

Note 3. — Never carry the voice in public use lower than it 
can be kept clear, nor higher than it can be kept agreeably full. 

4.. The Semitone, i, e., something less than a full 
interval of the diatonic scale — not an exact half- 
interval — although condemned by some, and al- 
though its abuse is a whine, is, when rightly used, 
a valuable refinement of change of pitch to express 
tenderness, pathos, sorrow, etc. The whine is a 
semitone unduly prolonged. The normal semitone 
is brief in duration. 

Exercise 8. On Semitone. —Sing Do, Si, and "Fa, 
Mi," of the diatonic scale. Say, with semitone on 
last word, ''He would die/' Also, find occasion for 
semitones in Genesis 44: 16-34. 

5. The "Pitch of the Room." — A notion has 
long existed that there is a certain particular pitch 
of voice most effective in each auditorium, and that 
each speaker should endeavor to find it. The at- 
tempt to find that pitch is unwise because unneces- 
sary. One might as well try to use his thumb 
instead of a finger, for all purposes, because it is by 
nature the strongest ! In piano playing all the 
fingers have to be trained to equal strength in exe- 
cution. Music, in any building, includes varieties 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 63 

of pitch octaves apart, and with many intermediate 
intervals. A quartette of male singers can all be 
distinctly heard, not only with the four ranges of 
pitch in the individual voices, but also with constant 
change of pitch in each voice. But, in good singing, 
the tones are pure and even throughout the scale. 
And this fact is the key to the truth, which is, that 
in unskilled speaking, with unevenly developed tones, 
one pitch may be so used as to produce reverbera- 
tion or to be inaudible, while another might be 
clearly heard. 

A skilled speaker, using the singing tone, making 
the voice carry by clearness and vibrancy instead 
of noise, can employ the same different degrees of 
pitch as the unskilled, but be easily heard at any one 
of them. He can, in the same place, read, "Ho, 
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters," in a 
high pitch, and then, ' ' Man that is born of a woman 
hath but a short time to live and is full of misery," 
in a low pitch, and be heard equally well in both 
passages. What should be sought instead of "the 
pitch of the room," is proper management of the 
reverberating power of the voice at any pitch. This 
often requires a thinning of the tone when the re- 
verberation is found to be excessive. The need for 
this can be ascertained by a speaker, in a strange 



64 VOICE PRODUCTION 

building, by listening intently, at a pause, to the 
vanish of the last sound, and judging if the rever- 
beration is inconvenient. If it is, the remedy of 
thinness, as well as of sharpened articulation and 
separation, can be applied. To yield to the notion 
of one best pitch, is to degrade expression to monot- 
ony or sing-song. 

33. Power. — The developing of the utmost 
power of the voice is important to every speaker and 
theological student because of the situations in which 
it may be required — a large church, an outdoor ser- 
vice, noisy surroundings, etc. Also, the occasional 
practice of powerful tones strengthens the voice for 
lighter uses. It is a fact not to be ignored that the 
majority of clergymen are more or less hampered 
by lack of vocal power, but few being able to make 
themselves heard, distinctly, in a large building. 

Power should not involve throat-fatigue. In the 
exercises below, bear in mind the following cautions : 

7. Depend entirely upon breath-pressure and 
openness of resonant chambers for the result de- 
sired. There may be much exertion in the trunk 
muscles, and in the firm pose of the body if main- 
tained for some time, but none elsewhere. The 
muscles of the larynx should remain at easy tension. 

2. Open the glottis at the instant the tone-effort 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 65 

begins (stroke of the glottis). Never hold the 
breath before explosive utterance so that the pres- 
sure of it seems to burst apart the vocal cords 
(" check of the glottis"). 

Exercise 1. Sing 00, a, 6, u, a, four seconds each, 
with strongest possible breath-pressure. Sing the 
diatonic scale to a in the same manner. 

Exercise 2. Shout (moderately) the vowel sounds 
in Table A, § 28, relaxing after each one. Shout 
them in regular time, with quick cessation as at 
the word of command. 

Exercise j. Shout all the a sounds in one effort. 

Shout all the e and i sounds in one effort. 

Shout all the o and u sounds in one effort. 

Exercise 4. Speak the following passage with the 
utmost power of voice : 

"The war must go on. We must fight it through. 
And, if the war must go on, why put off longer the 
Declaration of Independence? That measure will 
strengthen us It will give us character abroad. 

"Why then, sir. do we not, as soon as possible, 
change this from a civil to a national war? And, 
since we must fight it through, why not put our- 
selves in a state to enjoy all the benefits of victory, 
if we gain the victory? 

"Read this declaration at the head of the army; 

5 



66 VOICE PRODUCTION 

every sword will be drawn from its scabbard, and 
the solemn vow uttered, to maintain it, or to perish 
on the bed of honor. Publish it from the pulpit ; 
religion will approve it, and the love of religious 
liberty will cling round it, resolved to stand with it 
or fall with it. Send it to the public halls ; proclaim 
it there ; let them hear it who heard the first roar of 
the enemy's cannon ; let them see it who saw their 
brothers and their sons fall on the field of Bunker 
Hill and in the streets of Lexington and Concord, 
and the very walls will cry out in its support. 

"Sir, I know the uncertainty of human affairs, 
but I see, I see clearly, through this day's business. 
You and I, indeed, may rue it. We may not live 
to the time when this declaration shall be made 
good. We may die; die, colonists; die, slaves; 
die, it may be, ignominiously and on the scaffold. 
Be it so. Be it so. If it be the pleasure of heaven 
that my country shall require the poor offering of 
my life, this victim shall be ready, at the appointed 
hour of sacrifice, come when that hour may. But 
while I do live, let me have a country, or at least 
the hope of a country, and that a free country. 

"Sir, before God, I believe the hour is come. My 
judgment approves this measure, and my whole heart 
is in it. All that I have, and all that I am, and all 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 67 

that I hope, in this life, I am now ready to stake 
upon it; and I leave off, as I began, that, live or 
die, survive or perish, I am for the Declaration. It 
is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God 
it shall be my dying sentiment: independence now, 
and INDEPENDENCE FOREVER. : 7 —The Eloquence of 
John Adams, Webster. 

Exercise 5. Speak descriptively, with increasing 
power, beginning with the softest possible sotto voce, 
the following series : 

Very soft, — Soft, — Subdued, — Unimpassioned, — 
Moderate {prompt utterance), — Energetic (quick 
staccato), — Declamatory (full, slightly prolonged ut- 
terance), — Impassioned (louder orotund and explo- 
sive),— SHOUTING,— CALLING (utmost power of 
singing tone). 

Note i, — The greatest power is not in the explosive but in 
the singing tone. 

Note 2. — In these exercises, periodical and complete relaxa- 
tion prevents harm to the organs, and stores up power. 

Note 3. — Not every voice can be made to have the power 
which is possible to a few ; the physique may be inadequate. 
But training can make almost any voice relatively powerful, 
and sufficient for ordinary needs especially with the use of 
singing tone. 

Note 4. — Weakness of voice is caused by: (1.) Want of breath- 
piessure. caused by bad method or weak trunk muscles. (2.) Lack 



68 VOICE PRODUCTION 

of intelligent use of the resonances. (3.) A contracted throat. 
(4.) In fatigue, the soft palate is often greatly relaxed, preventing 
resonance and causing a smothered tone. 

Note 5. — In anticipation of a demand for power, if any doubt 
exists, try the mechanism, by deep breathing, vigorous use of 
trunk muscles, and expulsive expiration, with resonant cham- 
bers well opened. Such exercises, to tone up, may be used in 
brief intervals of a service, if voice is temporarily inadequate, 
during singing, or in the Psalter, when the congregation is 
reading. 

Note 6. — Practice power exercises not more than ten minutes 
at a time. 

Note 7. — Power of voice must not be mere brute force, of un- 
varied degree, like the cry of a huckster, or a train-announcer, 
but is refined as well as most effective when modified by a suit- 
able vanish of tone, in the necessary inflection and emphasis. 

Exercise 6. Speak the following words with initial 
power of the utmost, but decreasing rapidly during 
the utterance : Come ! Horrible! Tolling! Trea- 
son ! Vehemently ! Glorious ! 

This is the modulation of powerful speech, very desirable 
in sermons. 

34. "Quality and Quantity" (or tone-color and 
regulated power), says Murdock, "are the two great 
essentials of a perfected elocution." Some voices 
which have had more or less training possess power 
without purity, or purity without power. Both are 
necessary, and the diligent practice of the preceding 



BREATH-PRESSURE AND TONE-PRODUCTION 69 

exercises will secure them. For the acquisition of 
both of these, observe continually this maxim: 
There is no vibration of tone without a vibration of 
the trunk muscles — no power (with purity) without 
strong breath-pressure. The front trunk muscles 
should be very elastic, as well as strong. 

For examples: History records that the finished 
orator of the Civil War, Wendell Phillips, who had 
great influence over noisy and antagonistic audi- 
ences, was gifted with a pure, flute-like or silver 
tone, musical and far-reaching, but not especially 
loud. This he had acquired by careful elocutionary 
training. Henry Ward Beecher, who vanquished a 
hostile audience as much by the power of his voice 
as by the eloquence of his speech, had the singing 
tone to a remarkable degree, which he had acquired 
by years of scientific training. Daniel Webster 
was famous for his organ-like tones, of the same 
quality as the deep bass of a singer. Nature, with 
practice, gave him that voice. It is often observed 
and regretted that the voices of many of our most 
prominent bishops and clergymen, although evi- 
dently of sufficient or even superior quality by 
nature, are either harsh or weak for want of sys- 
tematic training, and are unnecessarily limited in 
their oratorical power. 



PART II 

ENUNCIATION 

[In the preceding pages an ordinary distinctness of utterance has 
been assumed. The order here followed is preferred because tone 
comes before articulation, as the block of wood before it is carved. 
This chapter treats of a more cultured and finished elocution. It 
includes the whole subject of the perfect utterance of both vowels 
and consonants, and of their combination in syllables and words.] 



CHAPTER I 

VOWELS 

35. (1) Bell's vowel table, as quoted in Lee's 
Principles of Public Speaking, is here given, to serve 
as a standard. The open or vowel sounds are four- 
teen in number. 

VOWEL TABLE C 

Sound 1. Spelled with ee (meet), ea (eat), ey (key), 
ie (chief), ei (receive), i (marine), etc. 
" 2. Spelled with i (hit), y (hymn), u (busy), o 
(women), e (pretty). 
70 



VOWELS 71 

Sound 3. Spelled with a (mate), ei (eight), ai 
(straight), ea (great), ay (may), etc. 

4. Spelled with e (met), u (bury), a (any), ea 
(dead), ai (said and saitk), eo (feoff), 
etc. 

5. Spelled with a (fat), ai (plaid), ua (aquatic), 
etc. 

6. Spelled with ea (pearl), e (her), y (myrrh), 
i (sir), u (hurt), o (worse), etc. 

7. Spelled with a (last), — a in monosyllables 
before ss, st, sk, sp, etc. 

8. Spelled with a (arm, ah, etc.), au (laundry), 
ea (heart), e (sergeant), etc. 

9. Spelled with u (up), o (come), oe (does), 
00 (blood), — the and a before a con- 
sonant. 

10. Spelled with o (log), a (what), au (laurel). 

11. Spelled with a (all), o (form), au (maul), 
aw (awl), etc. 

12. (Vanishing in 14). Spelled with o (slow), 
eau (beau), e (sew), ou (dough), oe 
(hoe), eo (yeoman), etc. 

13. Spelled with o (wolf), ou (would), u (pull), 
00 (book), — to when obscure. 

14. Spelled with o (move), 00 (pool), e (grew), 
u (truce), oe (shoe), etc., also u {truth). 



72 ENUNCIATION 

* 8-1. Spelled with i (might), y (my), ai (aisle), ei 

(height), ie (lie), etc. 

* ii-i. Spelled with oi (oil), oy (boy). 

* 8-14. Spelled with ow (now), ou (bough), etc. 

* 2-14. Spelled with u (flute), eau (beauty), e (new), 

eu (feud), ui (suit), etc. 

* 9-14. Spelled with u (use, education, durable), etc. 
(2) Seven of the vowel sounds are diphthongal, 

i. e., they vanish in a sound different from that 
with which they begin, both being quickly blended. 
They are : 

A, as in awe, vanishing in the short sound of e, in err. 

A, as in art y vanishing in e, in err. 

A, as in ale, vanishing in e, in eel. 

I, as in ice, vanishing in e, in eel. 

0, as in old, vanishing in 00, in ooze. 

Ou, as in out, vanishing in 00, in ooze. 

Oi, as in oil, vanishing in e, in eel, if long, vanish- 
ing in i, in, if short. 

U, as in use, flute, vanishing in 00, in ooze. 

The vowels are also called tonics because their pronunciation 
is all tone. 

36. (1) It is important to follow a recognized 
authority (as the above) which is the standard in 

* These are formed by gliding one pure tone into another, and are 
termed diphthongs. 



vowels 73 

our dictionaries, in every particular, and not to 
allow habits to continue which have sprung from 
provincialisms, inherited peculiarities, or personal 
defects. 

(2) The perfect articulation of the consonants is 
often urged as the secret of distinct speaking. Let 
that plea have its proper influence. But consonants 
furnish the noise and the interruptions and bound- 
aries of tone in speech, — the vowels, almost all of 
the sound or tone itself. Therefore, the proper 
utterance of the vowels is of the first importance. 
The music, the rhythm, the volume, the tone-color, 
the power and beauty of speech depend chiefly 
upon the vowels. Much of the understanding of 
spoken words depends upon such a characteristic 
enunciation of each vowel as to distinguish it from 
every other, as in rare and roar, wonder and wander, 
wash and dash, etc. 

(3) Most provincialisms and errors arising from 
lack of early education consist in wrong utterance 
of vowels. The proper characteristics of individual 
speech also appear in the vowel enunciation, full or 
light, quick or slow, etc. Vowels should be uttered 
with limits of time and power, in each individual use 
— the long vowels always of the same length (in 
effect), the short vowels of the same brevity, except 



74 ENUNCIATION 

for special emphasis or change of quantity (see 
Rhythm). Any unregulated prolongation of vowels 
makes drawl. 

37. Exercise 1. Pronounce all the words belong- 
ing to each sound in Vowel Table C — and give the 
vowel sound alone after each word. 

Exercise 2. Pronounce the long vowels and diph- 
thongs in this list, all with the same duration of 
sound : 

e, a, ea (in pearl), a, 6, 00, I, oi, ou, u. 

Repeat, prolonging each one. 

Exercise 3. Pronounce the following short sounds, 
all with same brevity of sound : 

1, e, a, a (last), u, o (in wolf). 

Repeat, saying each one as quickly as possible. 

Exercise 4.. Study the following passage in con- 
nection with Vowel Table C, numbering each sound 
as in the table, and then recite it with exact utter- 
ance of vowels : 

Thanatopsis. — Bryant. 

*' So live, that when thy summons comes to join 
The innumerable caravan, that moves 
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take 
His chamber in the silent halls of death, 



vowels 75 

Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night, 
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and 

soothed 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 

38. The Aspirate, H. — The letter h does not 
represent any exact formation, but simply an as- 
piration of the succeeding element. Thus h before 
e is a whispered e, etc. (Bell). 

This letter requires some attention, not because 
it is dropped or added at the beginning of initial 
words, as in England, but because it is very com- 
monly elided from pronouns when they follow other 
words, as "He found 'im," "We saw 'er," "In 'is 
arms," "He made 'em/' etc. This is, in fact, gen- 
eral colloquial usage, but is not permissible in public 
utterance. H is often too weak at the beginnings of 
words to be heard at any distance — a fault, because 
the h, as a forcible breathing, where it properly 
belongs, makes a word more oratorically effective. 

As to the usage, "an hotel," "an historian," "an 
hysterical patient," etc., using " an " before initial h 
when the accent of the succeeding word is on the 
second syllable, — it is most common in literature, 



j6 ENUNCIATION 

but arises, no doubt, from a customary weakness of 
the h in such words. It is, therefore, quite as well, 
certainly in public use, to make the h strong and 
use the article a, in accordance with the authority 
of the Standard Dictionary. H is frequently 
and erroneously omitted after w, as in "wite" for 
" white," etc. 

Exercise. Read, "Then took he him up in his 
arms and blessed God," "Up the high hill he 
heaved a huge round stone, ' ' also St. Mark, 8 : 22- 
26, omitting no h. 



CHAPTER II 

CONSONANTS 
39. — Consonants, or "Articulations" 

As every element of speech can be sounded alone, in some 
fashion, the consonants are called " articulations " by Bell, as a 
better term for the " oral action" necessary to their utterance. 
They are commonly called consonants, however, because in 
English speech they are not used except in conjunction with 
vowel sounds. 

40. Consonants are produced by the obstruction 
or compression of the breath behind the conjoined 
or closely approximated organs. 

There are three modes of articulation : I. Com- 
plete Contact; II. Partial Contact; III. Approxi- 
mation. 

/. Complete Contact 

The breath is obstructed at three points : 

1. By contact of the lips — P and B. 

2. By contact of the fore part of the tongue with 
the anterior part of the palate — T and D. 

77 



78 ENUNCIATION 

3. By contact of the back or root of the tongue 
with the posterior part of the palate — K and G 
(hard). 

P, T, and K are the " breath" forms of articulation. 

B, D, and G are the "voice" forms of articulation. 

While the oral organs are in obstructive contact, 
the breath or voice may be made to issue by the 
nostrils — in M, N, and Ng. For M, the lips are 
closed as in P and B; for N, the tongue is on the 
palate as for T and D ; for Ng, the posterior organs 
are in contact as in K and G. 

The nine articulations so far described are thus 
the result of but three actions of the mouth with 
the modification of — 



Breath 


Voice 


Nasal 


P 


B 


M 


T 


D 


N 


K 


G 


Ng 



II. Partial Contact 

Partial contact produces F and V, Th (thin), Th 
(then), and L. 

III. Approximation 

Approximation produces Wh and W, S and Z, Sh 
and Zh, Y, R, and Ch. Relaxed approximation 
gives the trilled R. 



CONSONANTS 



79 



41. The following table exhibits all the English 
consonantal sounds (twenty-two in number) in each 
of the four positions : initial, final, medial before a 
vowel, medial before a consonant. 



Table of Consonants — D 



p, 


pay 


a^e 


paper 


a/ricot 


B, 


bee 


gle£e 


neighbor 


a£ly 


M, 


max 


axm 


army 


arw'd 


Wh, 


why 


* 


awhile 


* 


W, 


way 


* 


away 


* 


F, 


fed 


dea/" 


de/inite 


de/tness 


V, 


veal 


leaz>e 


(evolve) 1 


ez/(e)ning 


Th, 


third 


dearth 


ethic 


eMnic 


Th, 


these 


seethe 


either 


wreaked 


s, 


jell 


less 


essay 


estuary 


z, 


zone 


doze 


rosy 


rosebush 


R, 


rare 


*2 


rarity 


* 


L, 


/eft 


. iell 


fellow 


fetf'd 


T, 


tale 


late 


later 


lameness 


D, 


day 


aid 


tracer 


tradesman 


N, 


nave 


rain 


waging 


mainland 


Sh, 


shelf 


Hesh 


fisher 


fu^monger 


Zh, 


giraffe 


rouge 


pleasure 


hedgerow (j = dzh) 


Y, 


ye 


Me (French) 


bej/ond 


* 


K, 


rap 


oack 


packet 


par^thread 


G, 


^um 


mug 


sluggard 


smuggler 


Ng, 


* 


sing 


singer 


siwgly 



42. As the vowels are called tonics, so the con- 
sonants are divided into subtonics and atonies as 

* These articulations do not occur in this position in English. 

1 "Evil " in Bell's table, according to an English pronunciation. 

2 Except before an initial vowel when r may be regarded as 
medial, as " far in." 



8o 




ENUNCIATION 


producing 


a little 


tone 


or "murmur," or none 


all. 














Subtonics (14) 


B, as 
D, 
G, 
V, 


in 3-abe 
' d-id 

1 ^"-ig 
4 z'-alve 




Z, as in a-2-ure 
Ng, 44 s\-ng 
L, " l-u-ll 
M, 44 w-ain 


z, 

Y, 
W, 
Th, 


' z-one 
4 y-e 
4 w-oe 

4 th-QXi 




N, 44 
R, 44 
R, 44 


n-n-n 

r_ap I The same 
fa-r J 






Atonics (10) 




P, 
T, 
K, 
F, 
H, 


as in /-ipe 
44 /-ent 
" k-i-ck 
44 /-ife 
44 h-e 






S, as in j-ick 
Wh, 4i wh-eat 
Th, " th-in 
Sh, 44 pu-.r>& 
Ch, ** ^-urch 



at 



The above may be also divided, according to the 
organs by whose agency they are articulated, into : 

Labials — chief agency the lips — b, p, w, m (also nasal). 
Dentals — chief agency the teeth — d> t, th-in, th-ine. 
Linguals — chief agency the tongue — /, r. 
Nasals — chief agency the nose — m, n, ng. 
Falatics, anterior — chief agency the hard palate — s, 
Palatics, posterior — chief agency the soft palate — k, 
Labio-dentals — v, f. 



2, sh, zh, ch. 
g (hard), y. 



43. Exercises in Articulation {Compiled from 
Vocal Culture" Murdoch-Russell), with additions. 
Exercise /. Articulate each consonant in the order 



CONSONANTS 8 1 

of Table D, § 41, forcibly and without vowel sound, 
e. g. , B, not Bee. 

Exercise 2. Practise the following combinations : 
Blame, clime, flee, glide, ply, sleep, spleen. 

{Without roll of the r.) Brave, creep, drop, frame, 
grain, preach, spring, tread, stray, shrine, shroud, 
shrub, shriek. 

Small, snare, space, steer. 

{Final syllables.} Bald, elf, milk, elm, helm, film, 
gulp, tells, fault, elve, revolve. — Maim'd, gleams, 
and, lined, dens, bank, dance, ant, gaunt. — Barb, 
orb'd. — Hard, hir'd, barr'd. — Hark, work; mark'd, 
work'd. 1 — Arm;arm'd. — Earn, scorn, worn, shorn; 
earn'd, turn'd. — Verse, horse; dar'st, burst, first, 
vers'd, hors'd. — Bars, hears, snares. — Mart, girt. — 
Carve; carv'd, starv'd. 

Chasm, schism, criticism, patriotism. 

Reas'n, ris'n, chos'n. — Asp, clasp, wasp, lisp. — 
Vast, lest, dost; pass'd, bless'd, miss'd. — Makes, 
streaks, crooks. — Act, respect. — Wak'd, look'd, 
rock'd.— Waft, aft, left; quaff'd, scoff d, laugh'd.— 
Apt, wept, crept; sipp'd, pip'd, popp'd.— Op'n, 
rip'n, happ'n, tak'n, tok'n, drunk'n; sadd'n, 
gladd'n, lad'n, burd'n, hard'n, gard'n. — Grav'n, 

1 All verbs ending in p or k have the sounds of pt or kt in the past 
tense. 

6 



82 ENUNCIATION 

heav'n, sev'n, ov'n, ev'n, giv'n, wov'n. — Bright'n, 
tight' n, whit'n.' 

Call'st, heal'st, arm'st, charm'st, harm'st. — 
Can'st, runn'st, gain'st, against (agenst). — Durst, 
worst. — Midst, call'dst. — Heard'st. — Arm'dst, 
form'dst, charm'dst. — Learn'dst, scorn'dst. 

Able, feeble ; troubled, babbled, bubbled. — Ample, 
triple, topple; tripl'd, crippl'd. — Cradle, bridle; 
cradl'd, swaddl'd. — Marl, hurl; world, whirl'd. 

Rings, hangs, songs; hang'dst, sing'st; hang'd, 
clang'd; wrong'dst, throng'dst. 2 

Exercise j. Transition from one class of elements 
to another. (Read across the page.) 



Tonics 


SUBTONICS 


Atonics 


A-\\ 


B-a-de 


P-i-pe 


A-m 


D-x-d 


T-ew-t 


A-n 


G-*-g 


C-z-ke 


E-ve 


V-al-ve 


E-i-fe 


Oo-ze 


Z-one 


C-ea.se 


E-TT 


A-s-ure 


Fii-sk 


E-nd 


Th-ew 


Th-\n 


I-n 


J-ud-ge 


Ch-wx-ch 



1 Words thus printed never have the e sounded, except when an 
additional syllable is requisite in poetry. 

2 These difficult combinations are more easily articulated when a 
pronoun is used with them, as " Thou wrong'dst him," for then the 
mind helps the tongue. 



CONSONANTS 



83 



Exercise 4.. In transition from one class of organic 
elements to another. 



Labials 


Dentals 


Aspirate 


B-si-de 


D-i-d 


H 


P-i-pe 


T-en-t 




M-a\-m 


Th-m. 


Nasals 


W-oe 


Th-me 


N-u-n 


V-al-ve 
F-\-fe 


7-oy 

Ck-ux-ch 


Si-ng 


Palatics 
C-a,-ke 
G-a.-g 
F-e 


A-z-ure 
VxL-sh 
C-ea.se 
Z-one 


LiNGUALS 

L-vl-U 
R-a,-x> 
F-a.-r 



Exercise 5. In difficult words 
and in difficult phrases. 



Ab'stinently 
Acces'sory 
Ac'curately 
Angularly 
Ag'riculture 
Anni'hilate 
Asso'ciate (sh) 
Annuncia'tion (si) 
Apprecia'tion (sh) 
Accw'mzdate 
^wthor'itatively 
Artie' ulately 



AffabzTz'ty 

Collaterally 

Collo'quially 

Christian'ity 

Constitution 

Coagula'tion 

Com#zewora'tion 

Des'picable 

Dietet'ically 

Disin'terestedly 

Disingen'uousness 

Ecclesias'tical 



of many syllables, 



Expos'tulatory 

Ex'quisitely 

Incalculably 

Inexplicable 

Innu'merable 

Intolerable 

L«c*/bra'tion 

Lwgw'brious 

Manipulate 

Peripatet'ic 

Propitiation (ti = sh) 



The italics call attention to the proper pronunciation of vowels. 

" Inestimable benefit." 
"New moons." 

"Negligences and ignorances." 
"What advantageth it me? " 



84 ENUNCIATION 

"The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them 
that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth." 

"This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous 
words against this holy place and the law." 

"Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." 

' ' So soon passeth it away and we are gone. ' ' 

"But nourisheth and cherisheth it." 

(Recite the above, first slowly, then quickly). 

Exercise 6. To be said as rapidly as it can be made 
distinct. Pronounce every d in the ands. Make 
the repeated elements very strong. 

"And gleaming and streaming and steaming and 
beaming, 
And rushing and flushing and brushing and gushing, 
And flapping and rapping and clapping and slapping, 
And curling and whirling and purling and twirling, 
Retreating and beating and meeting and sheeting, 
Delaying and straying and playing and spraying, 
Advancing and glancing and prancing and dancing, 
Recoiling, turmoiling and toiling and boiling, 
And thumping and flumping and bumping and 

jumping, 
And dashing and flashing and splashing and clash- 
ing, 



CONSONANTS 85 

And so never ending, but always descending, 
Sounds and motions for ever and ever are blending, 
All at once and all o'er, with a mighty uproar: 
And this way the water comes down at Lodore." 

Southey, 

Exercise 7. To separate repeated elements, etc. 

Recite slowly, then rapidly. 

Fine white wine vinegar with veal. 
Such pranks Frank's prawns play in the tank. 
Bring a bit of buttered brown bread. 
Keep the tippet ticket. 

Geese cackle, cattle low, crows caw, cocks crow. 
She says she shall sew a sheet. 
Sickening, stickling, shilly-shally silliness. 
Thrice the shrew threw the shoe. 
A rural ruler. Rural raillery. 
A lucent rubicund rotatory luminary. 
A million menial minions. 

Laid in the cold ground. Hear the panting spirit 
sigh. 

All night it lay an z^-drop there. 

Would that all difference of sects were at an end. 

Oh, studied deceit. Chased stars. 



86 ENUNCIATION 

His beard descending swept his aged breast. 

From Bell's Elocution. 

The exercises in this section may be used merely as tests by 
those who have natural facility. 

44. Helps to Articulation of Difficult Words. 

1. Think the word out before enunciating. 

2. Before articulating, take a deep breath, and 
then speak the word on a full tide of expiration. 

3. Pause before a difficult word. 

4. Make the accent unusually strong. 

5. Articulate the syllables separately, as Neg'- 
li-gen-cies. 

6. Speak a difficult combination rhythmically ', 
from accent to accent. 

45. Excessively strong articulation should be 
avoided, as "ass-pect" for "aspect," '* good' ness"' 
for "goodness," "ser'v&n't" for "servunt" (obscure 
a), etc. 

Observe different degrees of sharpness ox force of 
articulation, — easy in conversation, forcible and crisp 
for public speaking in large places, without which 
some words are lost. 



CHAPTER III 

VOCAL DEFECTS 

46. The minor defects have been treated in 
tone-production, such as huskiness, nasality, gut- 
tural tones, thick tones, etc. The defects more 
difficult to remove and often requiring special treat- 
ment are stuttering, stammering, hesitation, and 
lisping. These are too familiar to need explanation, 
but may be distinguished from one another for pur- 
poses of reference. 

Stuttering is an involuntary jerky repetition of 
vocal elements in the attempt to combine them in 
sentences. 

Stammering is a difficulty experienced in enunci- 
ating the vocal elements, but without repetition. 

Hesitation is simply what the word implies, equiv- 
alent to a low degree of stammering. 

All of these defects are curable, but only by the 
right method adapted to the individual case, and 
diligently and intelligently pursued by the sufferer 

87 



88 ENUNCIATION 

himself. The means of cure suggested here are 
only the simplest, but in many cases are efficacious. 

/. Acquire the habit of calm self-possession in all 
utterance, public or conversational. — One of the worst 
stutterers ever known in a certain college, having a 
calm temperament, never lapsed from smooth and 
ready speech in his excellent public speaking. Prac- 
tise deliberate utterance on all occasions. 

2. Master the method of firm breath-control, and 
never speak except on the full tide of the breath. — 
This is practically the substance of some of the so- 
called methods of cure. 

j. Speak with the tone placed forward, where the 
breath is most immediately available for supplying 
the power of articulation. 

4.. Keep the tongue, when not speaking, close to 
the roof of the mouth. This means that it will be 
more ready for speaking and also that it will not be 
so likely to be stiffened at its root, a serious provo- 
cative of stammering, etc. 

Lisping is a different defect from the preceding — 
not to be classed with them — and consists of a hiss- 
ing sound made by keeping the lips too close to- 
gether and the tongue too near the teeth, principally 
the latter. The remedy is perfectly simple and 
efficacious : practise speaking with the lips as open 



VOCAL DEFECTS 89 

as possible and the tongue withdrawn from the 
teeth. 

Thickness and reediness of tone are common de- 
fects, caused by too great elevation of the middle of 
the tongue, so as to narrow the passage for the 
breath. The remedy is to train the tongue to "lie 
low" by pressing it firmly against the lower teeth, 
then relaxing it, and at the moment of relaxation 
practising the pure sound which it is desired to sub- 
stitute for the thick or reedy one. 



CHAPTER IV 

ERRORS IN ENUNCIATION 

47. (1) Errors in Vowels. — A as in AIL 1. Not 
broad enough, as "offul" for awful, "wotter" for 
water, etc. 2. Too broad, as waater, etc. 3. 
Adding r to law, etc., before a vowel, as "the law'r 
in such a case." 

A as in Arm (or as it should be in Ah!). 1 . Flatten- 
ing it to a in an, as psalm (samm) or father for 
father. 2. Too long, as in aask instead of ask, the 
shortened form of a. 

For a standard pronunciation of a as in ah ! — put 
the mouth in the position of a moderate yawn, with 
teeth and lips a little apart, tongue concave and 
down, and throwing the tone forward, speak it 
promptly. A prompt pronunciation of a is accept- 
able even in localities where it is habitually flat- 
tened, — a lengthened pronunciation is not. 

A as in An or Pat (except before ss, st, sk, sp). 
Sometimes made a, as in arm. The word man is 

90 



ERRORS IN ENUNCIATION 91 

pronounced by some as man (mahn). Reference to 
a standard dictionary is advisable, on account of 
different usages and authorities in respect to this 
sound. Avoid und or 'nd y often said for and. 

A final as in Soda (u). A very common fault is to 
add r before a vowel, as " There was sodar in it," 
"The mannar in the desert," etc. 

E as in Meet. Seldom mispronounced, except 
by pressing the tongue too closely against the roof 
of the mouth, thus causing a sort of squeak. To 
remedy this serious fault, train the tongue to keep 
down by pressing it against the lower teeth and say- 
ing e quickly, as it is relaxed, and with the mouth as 
open as possible. 

/ as in Hit. Sometimes made like e in eel by an 
affected nicety of enunciation — as "peety, pheelos- 
ophy, possibeelity, inspeeration," etc. This is not 
only Scotch, but also American — as a fault. 

/ as in Ice. Making the a part of 1 too long, as 
" tahime " for time. Remedy — pronounce the long 
i more quickly. 

O as in Log and Top. Making it like the ah 
sound, as "lang" for long, " Strang" for strong, 
etc. (very common in New York). An affectation 
of nicety. 

O as in Old. The New England custom of saying 



92 ENUNCIATION 

boat, coat, etc., with a shortening of the o sound, as 
in wainscot (once a true long o in England), is now 
obsolete. 

Oo as in Tool; oo as in Took. The usage varies in 
different words. Oo is long before a subtonic ele- 
ment, short before an atonic. Exceptions — good, 
wood, stood. Food, spoon, and soon are wrong. 

Oi as in Oil, Strangely enough, such usage as is 
ridiculed in the ignorant who say, " I see the p'int" 
(point), appears among the educated, sometimes, in 
an approximation to the sound of I, as in "rej'ice" 
for rejoice. Remedy — open the mouth more widely 
at the beginning of the sound. 

Ou as in Pout. Error, aou — a provincialism or rus- 
ticism. Remedy — Open the mouth less at the be- 
ginning, and purse the lips more closely and quickly 
together at the close of the sound. 

Ea as in Appear. Not uncommonly spoken eyar, 
as in Neyar (near), Heyar (hear or here), in America 
(affectation of nicety). Not so bad as an exagger- 
ated form said to have been heard in England as fol- 
lows: "He that hath yaws to yaw, let him yaw," 
for "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." 

A similar affectation is heard in "raw of the sea" 
instead of "roar," etc. 

Several examples of inadequate or undignified 



ERRORS IN ENUNCIATION 93 

pronunciation of sacred names need to be noticed 
here. ' ' God ' ' is pronounced as ' ' Gawd' ' or * ' Gard. ' ' 
It should have the vowel precisely as in log. Prac- 
tise the latter word with intention to say the sacred 
name with the same vowel sound when it does 
occur. Strength and dignity may be added to the 
word by a firm and deliberate articulation of its con- 
sonants. "Jesus" is generally uttered with the u 
too obscure. To correct, say "He frees us" very 
distinctly and then apply the full sound of u to the 
name of the Saviour. "Saviour" should not be pro- 
nounced differently from the same word with inferior 
meaning, in "Savior of his country " i. e., not Sav- 
your, but Sav-yur t or vowel sound as of o in atom. 

A very general error in the enunciation of vowels 
consists in changing them to entirely different 
sounds in unaccented syllables, as " ecknowledge " or 
"icknowledge" for acknowledge, "Ull-mighty" or 
" Ol-mighty " for All-mighty in the word Almighty, 
" cummitted" iox committed, " cun-fess" or "cn-fess" 
for confess, "furgiveness" for forgiveness, "ubtain" 
for obtain, "begutten" for begotten, in Nicene Creed, 
etc. In correcting this error be careful not to ac- 
cent the unaccented syllable. 

The above errors, and many others, emphasize 
the prime importance of correct vowel articulation. 



94 ENUNCIATION 

(2) Errors in Consonants. — A positive articulation 
of the consonants will prevent most errors in their 
utterance; but in some cases special care must be 
exercised to pronounce them fully, especially when 
a consonant is doubled, either in the middle of a 
word, as in immortal, or when a word begins with 
the same consonant with which the preceding word 
ends — e. g., in the Creed, "Was crucified, dfead," 
and "the third day"; "O God, make clean our 
hearts within us," not "make lean" ; "eternal life," 
not "eterna-life," in the Collect for Peace (Morning 
Prayer); "mortal life," not "morta-life," in the 
Advent Collect (Cautions by Bishop Hall), 

(3) Errors in Syllables. — Other common errors 
consist in obscuring or slurring unaccented syllables 
and the small words, as "blieve" for believe, in the 
Creed ; ■ ' nur ' ' for nor, ' * nut ' ' for not, * ' unf tJi 
throne " for unto the throne, " atall" for at all ; and 
in running words together — e. g., " Here-rendeth the 
first lesson," "Glory be to the Father-rand to the 
Son, " " Let us-spray, " " Stand in aw r of him 
(Venite), etc. 

It should be a fixed habit in public reading and 
speaking to make every syllable and element of the 
language perfectly audible, for dignity as well as 
distinctness ; and even in announcing a Lesson, not 



ERRORS IN ENUNCIATION Q$ 

to omit "of," etc., as is frequently done, in conse- 
quence of inattention to this point — e. g., "Here 

beginneth — eleventh verse fifteenth chapter 

Gospel according to St. Luke." 



CHAPTER V 

PRONUNCIATION 

48. Correct pronunciation is that which is ac- 
cepted in the best usage and authorized in the 
standard dictionaries. It is here distinguished from 
enunciation. It is unwise for any one who is not a 
special student of this subject and an acknowledged 
authority in it to adopt pronunciations peculiar to 
himself. It is best for students to test their ability 
to pronounce as the dictionaries direct by a daily 
reading from some good author, especially in a 
scholarly style, and looking up all words of which 
they have any doubt. After a fair proficiency is 
thus acquired, it is well to continue to correct occa- 
sional uncertainties in pronunciation by further ref- 
erence to a dictionary. Avoid the following of local 
peculiarities of pronunciation — provincialisms — 
no matter into what part of the country one may go. 
The clergyman should represent a standard pronun- 
ciation. Avoid all personal peculiarities in speech 

96 



PRONUNCIATION 97 

as well as in anything else ; also all obsolete and ob- 
solescent forms, such as the separate pronunciation 
of final -ed in words found in the Prayer Book or 
Bible. Occasionally, for rhythmic purposes, in 
poetic passages, the -ed may be separated, as in 
"The parch-ed ground shall become a pool," but not 
as " The soul of our deceas-ed brother " (in the Com- 
mittal), and many others which disturb the rhythm 
as well as the correct pronunciation. 

Accept all authorized contractions, as '- seth" for 
"sa-ith." Observe the changes that arise in the 
best usage, — e. g. r pronunciation for "pronunshia- 
tion," — when authorized by the dictionaries. 

Let the pronunciation be full at all times, bring- 
ing out all the vocal elements, but especially in pub- 
lic reading and speaking, according to the size of 
the auditorium, its acoustic properties, etc. Under 
difficult circumstances, it is sometimes necessary to 
utter every word slowly, more separately than usual, 
and with emphasized distinctness, so that the sound 
of a word may not be mingled with that of the pre- 
ceding one. Perfectly formed vocables help the 
economy of power. Here the vanish of tone is useful 
(see § 33). In the Appendix will be found a list of 
the most common and representative mispronuncia- 
tions. 
7 



PART III 

ADAPTATION OF VOICE TO THOUGHT AND 
SENTIMENT 



CHAPTER I 
METHODS, AND INFLECTION 

49. To express variations of thought and senti- 
ment, the voice is changed in (1) Pitch (Inflection) ; (2) 
Breath-pressure (Emphasis); (3) Placing (Tone-color). 

50. Inflection. — Inflection is a raising or lower- 
ing (or both) of the pitch, either suddenly or gradu- 
ally, during the utterance of an accented syllable 
(or monosyllabic word). It is less often carried 
through several words, on the accented syllables, 
and then is called the slide of inflection. It is gen- 
erally accompanied by a vanish of the voice from 
the beginning to the end of the syllable, but this 
element of expression belongs to emphasis. 

(1) The inflections are three: (a) Rising — "Is it 
he?" (b) Falling— "It is he." (c) Compound or 

98 



METHODS, AND INFLECTION 99 

circumflex — a combination of {a) and (b) in either or- 
der — rising-falling, or falling-rising — e. g., "Aha!" 
"Oh, really?" "Oh, really!" "N6t f?" "Yes, in- 
deed ! ' ' This may be carried to any extent for ex- 
pression of sarcasm, defiance, irony, contempt, etc., 
as in "Cry aloud, for he is a God ! " 

(2) The Slide of inflection is another form of 
change of pitch — here confined to a gradual change 
extending through a phrase or sentence; to be 
noted, always, on the accented syllables. It may 
be rising or falling, sometimes, in expressions of very 
strong emotion, after the form of the circumflex — 
e. g. y "Advance our standards, set upon our foes!" 
"fs the chair empty? " "Is the sword unswayed?" 
"6 upright judge ! Mark, Jew : — learned judge ! " 
"They that make a graven image are all of them 
vanity ; and their delectable things shall not profit ; 
and they are their own witnesses; they see not, 
nor know, that they may be ashamed " (and so 
throughout Isaiah 44: 9-20). 

In the above exercises there is a sense of slide 
from the word marked ' to that marked \ This 
slide is natural in impassioned expression and in 
connection with cumulative emphasis. (See § 57.) 

The upward slide is used to connect, the downward to sepa- 
rate, thought. 

LofC. 



IOO ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

51. Degrees of the Change of Pitch in Inflection. 
— (1) These are said by many authorities to corre- 
spond to the musical intervals of the 2d, 3d, 5th, 
and octave; but experience proves that seldom, if 
ever, can any of these intervals be exactly observed 
in speech, for the reason that the sudden, essential 
change of pitch in inflection prevents the impression 
of any single pitch from remaining on the ear. In- 
stead of attempting precision in this matter, it is 
better to vary the amount of change of pitch accord- 
ing to the amount of thought-difference, feeling, or 
kind of temperament. "Not y£t prepared?" may 
be said with a quiet remonstrative rise on "yet" — 
3d; or with a more emphatic remonstrance — 5th; 
while the octave would express an excessive or 
frantic appeal. Even the 4th could be used in a 
solemn appeal, or the 6th in a most impassioned- 
solemn appeal, or the 7th in a frenzied appeal. The 
amount of change is the point, rather than the exact 
relation of that change to the scale. The most that 
can be claimed for the 2d, 3d, or 5th, etc., in speech 
is that it may be and often is the pitch of the first 
or last accented syllable of a slide in inflection ; and 
these intervals are best used in practice — for a dull 
ear, or monotonous voice— just before a recitation 
and separately from it, for the purpose of calling 



METHODS, AND INFLECTION IOI 

attention to a desired change of pitch in inflection. 
This practice is especially desirable for the purpose 
of eliminating misplaced semitones from the deliv- 
ery, by using the diatonic scale and major intervals. 
These semitones make a whining delivery, and, in 
fact, one that is founded on the chromatic scale (of 
course, unconsciously). A person of melancholy 
temperament or condition, or of low breathing 
power, may talk, habitually, in the chromatic scale 
— i. e., with all the natural, major intervals dimin- 
ished (or increased in excitement) by a semitone, or 
smaller interval. 

(2) The semitone properly used in minor 3d, etc., 
is a little more or less than the sum of regular or 
whole intervals, as in the frantic cry of ' ' Fire ! ' ' 
"He is lostM " It is natural, as in the tones of a 
mother soothing her child, or in the expression of 
pathos; but used precisely, as in the scale, or pro- 
longed, it degenerates into whine or sing-song. 

(3) The Monotone may be regarded as a variety of 
inflection because the natural changes of pitch are 
reduced in extent to express awe, solemnity, rever- 
ence, majesty, etc., as in "We praise Thee, O God, 
we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord." The 
emphasis is increased, the inflection decreased. 

But, note the essential difference between a proper 



102 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

monotone and monotony (after the fashion of intoning, 
to which the wrong use of monotone is apt to lead). 
Intoning keeps the pitch absolutely the same from 
the beginning to the end (except for variations at 
the beginning or end). It is devoid of all expression 
during the progress of the sentence except the one 
general expression of solemn, musical tone. Monot- 
ony is similar, but without the musical element, and 
is, therefore, a positive fault. In monotone the in- 
flections are reduced to almost nothing, but enough 
is left to make speech instead of song. Continued 
emphasis takes the place of inflection, in part, be- 
cause sentiment is more prominent than intellectual- 
ity. E. g. , some inflection may be noted in a not 
too rigid or monotonous delivery of the Te Deum, as 
marked below ; with very slight changes of inflection 
and emphasis (the latter denoted by dotted lines). 

"We praise Thee, O God, we ackndwledge Thee 
to be the Lord/' etc. 

Monotone is frequently used at the end of solemn 
sentences in the Scriptures and in the Liturgy, to 
prevent too practical an effect, as in "Thus saith the 
Lord," not "Lord," "in the world to come life 
everlasting," not "everlasting" and in the Te Deum 
at the ends of all the sentences. 

This may be called a suspended or partial inflec- 



METHODS, AND INFLECTION 103 

Hon. Its effect is to make the conclusion of one 
passage an introduction to the following one or a 
suggestion of the expected response. It is not sing- 
song or monotony, but an intentional expression 
of a relation. At the marks / \ used above, the 
pitch does not rise or fall quite to the extent of 
a regular inflection. 

The different degrees of change in pitch, instead 
of being referred, precisely, to the intervals of the 
scale, may be called : 

(1) Monotone — less than "moderate." 

(2) Moderate — as in ordinary conversation. 

(3) Emphatic, as in a speech. 

a. Light, b. Strong. 

(4) Dramatic — more than a fifth. 

Note. — A Monotone is reflective. 

A Rising Inflection is prospective. 

A Falling Inflection is retrospective. — (Bell.) 

52. The Uses of Inflection. 

Note i. — Inflection is almost always accompanied by empha- 
sis, the one varying with the other. 

Note 2. — Punctuation does not indicate inflection. 

Inflection is used : 

(1) To mark the principal point of thought — e. g., 
" This was the firsf gleam of hope.' ' " Is it this' ? ' ' 

(2) To indicate distinction of meaning. Every new 



104 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

thought requires a change of pitch or emphasis, 
generally both — e. g., "The world is full of wrongs" 
and evils, and full of wronged and suffering men. 
But I do say that, of all wrongs' ' , slavery is the 
greatest. ' ' — Dewey. 

"Is* that the wdrst of evils? " 

Note. — The falling inflection before another word may have 
an almost imperceptible rise at the end, to suggest continuity of 
meaning. 

(3) To indicate contrast or antithesis — e.g., "As in 
the beginning, so in the endV Also the circumflex 
here, e. g., " As with you, so with him." 

(4) To indicate completion or end of statement — 
e. g. y "This was all that was said." 

"His property consisted of houses, stocks, and 
$1000 in cash." 

(5) A group of words, not to be especially em- 
phasized in one more than in another, has but one 
inflection, at the close. Here is seen the fault of 
over -inflection, often observed in children's recita- 
tions and in the crude recitation of adults — e. g., 
"This N was the house that Jack built." The em- 
phasis should be distributed by the sliding inflection 
through the entire phrase "house that Jack built," 
and, therefore, no inflection should interrupt it. 

(6) A real series should have no interruption un- 



METHODS, AND INFLECTION 10$ 

less the members are individually emphatic. "And 
in her was found the blood of prophets, and of 
saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth" 
(Rev. 1 8 : 24). But there are series with interrupting 
emphasis and falling inflection — e.g., "And there 
shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and 
of the Lamfr shall be in it r ; and his servants shall 
serve x him: And they shall see his face x : and his 
name shall be in their foreheads" (Rev. 22: 3, 4). 
A careful distinction should be made between these 
two kinds of series in reading the Bible. 

(7) Restrictive phrases and clauses should not be 
separated from the words modified and explained by 
them, by a falling inflection, as, ' ' The powder that sits 
behind the throne" is wrong. It should be "The 
power that sits behind the throne. ' ' [Similar to (5).] 

(8) A verb like saying, said, etc. , followed by a 
quotation, no matter how long, should not be sepa- 
rated from the quotation which is its object, by a 
falling inflection, as in, "And he took up his parable 
and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the 
man whose eyes are open hath said ; He hath said, 
which heard the words of God, which saw the vision 
of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having 
his eyes open: How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob." 
— Num. 24: 3, 4. 



106 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

" And he opened his mouth and taught them, say- 
ing, Blessed are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the 
kingdom of heaven." — Matt. 5:2, 3. 

Note this especially in reading from the Bible, where this 
error of falling inflection is often heard. Exceptions. Occasion, 
ally ,' 4 Thus saith the Lord" may have the falling inflection, before 
an especially formal or solemn declaration. Also "as follows." 

(9) Inflections may lie within the lower or higher 
ranges of the voice, as — {—^ — , the line indicating 
medium pitch. Strong inflections may proceed 
from one range to the other, as ^-^ — ^^ , etc., 
but in ordinary use the falling inflection should not 
start in the lower range for fear of weakening at the 
end, and monotony, nor should the rising inflection 
start in the upper range, for fear of a shriek. 

(10) Inflections cannot all be prescribed, but may 
vary with the feeling or interpretation of the reader, 
— e. g. y one may say, "A sudden shower put an end 
to their pleasure, and sent them to shelter" ; while 
another might say with the same sense, "A sudden 
shower," etc., using a slight emphasis throughout, 
and inflection only on " shelter" to denote comple- 
tion of statement. 

(11) The value of inflection in public reading and 
speaking is so great as to demand training. Its 
thorough and intelligent use insures the conversa- 



METHODS, AND INFLECTION I07 

tional method, but not manner, as the basis of all 
expression, in the larger delivery, which will have 
its larger manner and degree of expression. Excess 
of inflection in public utterance belittles it to the 
manner of a less important occasion. For weighty, 
dignified speech, avoid quick and lively inflections; 
they must be slower there than in conversation. 

(12) A most injurious fault in public reading, etc., 
is the failure to give the falling inflection where the 
sense demands it to indicate the salient points of 
thought or the ends of statements, especially in 
reading the Scriptures. This fault is likely to be 
fostered by the recent and growing over-use of the 
rising inflection. The rising inflection naturally in- 
dicates question, doubt, indeterminate statement, 
leaving some of the responsibility of it to the sym- 
pathy of the person addressed. Misused, it destroys 
the form of statement, perhaps by a quasi-polite 
attempt to combine question with statement, as, 
"And I want some Vienna bread?" (heard in a 
grocery); "I went to see the Smiths? " — i. <?., with- 
out the required separate expression, "I went to 
see the Smiths\ Do you know them? " 

The perpetual misuse of the rising inflection is 
weakening to the sense and becomes wearisome to 
the ear. In the public reading of the Scriptures 



108 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

there should be no indeterminateness in uttering 
the Word of God, nor any economy of needed 
inflection. 

53. Exercises in Inflection. 

Exercise 1. Sing the diatonic scale to a % the do, 
mi, sol, do, up and down, of the same. Also the 
chromatic scale. 

Exercise 2. Say, "Wild?" "Is it h£ ? " etc., 
with as much rising inflection as possible. Say, 
"When?" "It is false!" "It is glorious!" etc., 
with as much falling inflection as possible. 

Note. — This falling inflection is difficult for some on account 
of lack of "ear," or inefficiency of the vocal apparatus. In 
such cases, sing a high tone to a and then start the inflected 



word on that key, as 



m 



and 



fc*: 



A He! 



coming down to a low pitch. Then speak words with the same 
fall. 

Exercise j. Monotone. — Recite the following: 
"O thou that rollest above, round as the shield 
of my father ! Whence are thy beams, O Sun ! thy 
everlasting light? Thou comest forth in thy awful 
beauty : the stars hide themselves in the sky ; the 
moon, cold and pale, sinks in the western wave." — 
From Ossiarts Apostrophe to the Sun, McPherson. 



METHODS, AND INFLECTION IO9 

Also: "Thou too, hoar Mount," etc., § 30. 

Also: The Te Deum> the Benedicite, Psalm 130, 
and Rev. 7: 9-12. (In the last let there be a cres- 
cendo — gradual increase of volume and emphasis — 
in the twelfth verse, diminishing again in "for ever 
and ever. Amen." The perorations of great ora- 
tions are also in monotone— ^. g., Daniel Webster, 
" When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the 
last time," etc., § 57.) 

Exercise 4.. Moderate Inflection. — In ordinary state- 
ments, descriptions, narratives, etc. 

Examples: "Of all that extensive empire which 
once acknowledged the authority of Spain in the 
New World, no portion, for interest and importance, 
can be compared with Mexico ; — and this, equally, 
whether we consider the variety of its soil and 
climate; the inexhaustible stores of its mineral 
wealth ; its scenery, grand and picturesque beyond 
example; the character of its ancient inhabitants, 
not only far surpassing in intelligence that of the 
other North American races, but reminding us, by 
their monuments, of the primitive civilization of 
Egypt and Hindustan; or lastly, the peculiar cir- 
cumstances of its Conquest, adventurous and ro- 
mantic as any legend devised by Norman or Italian 
bard of chivalry. It is the purpose of the present 



IIO ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

narrative to exhibit the history of this Conquest, 
and that of the remarkable man by whom it 
was achieved." — Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, 
Chap. I. 

"Among the musical disciples who assembled one 
evening in each week to receive his instructions in 
psalmody, was Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter 
and only child of a substantial Dutch farmer. She 
was a blooming lass of fresh eighteen ; plump as a 
partridge, ripe and melting and rosy-cheeked as one 
of her father's peaches, and universally famed, not 
merely for her beauty but her vast expectations. 
She was withal a little of a coquette, as might be 
perceived even in her dress, which was a mixture of 
ancient and modern fashions as most suited to set 
off her charms." — From A History of New York, 
by Diedrich Knickerbocker. 

Exercise J. Emphatic Inflection. — In lively de- 
scription, with dialogue, strong antitheses, forcible 
arguments, and earnest appeals. 

Examples: "I am loath to close. We are not 
enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. 
Though passion may have strained, it must not 
break our bonds of affection." — Abraham Lincoln. 

"Cromwell manufactured his own army. Napo- 
leon, at the age of twenty-seven, was placed at the 



METHODS, AND INFLECTION III 

head of the best troops Europe ever saw. Crom- 
well never saw an army till he was forty ; this man 
never saw an army till he was fifty. Cromwell 
manufactured his own army — out of what? Eng- 
lishmen, the best blood in Europe. Out of the 
middle class of Englishmen — the best blood of the 
island. And with it he conquered what? English- 
men — their equals. This man manufactured his 
army — out of what? Out of what you call the 
despicable race of negroes, debased, demoralized by 
two hundred years of slavery, one hundred thou- 
sand of them imported into the island within four 
years, unable to speak a dialect intelligible even to 
each other. Yet, out of this mixed, and, as you 
say, despicable mass, he forged a thunderbolt and 
hurled it at — what? At the proudest blood in 
Europe, the Spaniard, and sent him home con- 
quered ; at the most warlike blood in Europe, the 
French, and put them under his feet ; at the pluck- 
iest blood in Europe, the English, and they skulked 
home to Jamaica. Now, if Cromwell was a general, 
at least this man was a soldier. I know it was a 
small territory ; it was not as large as the continent : 
but it was as large as that Attica, which with Athens 
for a capital has filled the earth with its fame 
for two thousand years. We measure genius by 



12 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 



quality, not by quantity." — Toussaint VOuverture, 
Wendell Phillips. 

Exercise 6. Dramatic Inflection. — (i)In the most 
passionate appeals, and in dramatic description. 

Examples : "Who is here so base, that would be 
a bondman? If any, speak; for him have I of- 
fended. Who is here so rude, that would not be a 
Roman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. 
Who is here so vile, that will not love his country? 
If any, speak; for him have I offended. I pause 
for a reply." — Brutus m Julius Ccesar, Shakespeare, 

" You souls of geese, 

That bear the shapes of men, how have you run 
From slaves that apes would beat! Pluto and 

Hell! 
All hurt behind; backs red, and faces pale 
With flight and agued fear! MEND, and CHARGE 

HOME, 
Or, by the flres of heaven, I '11 leave the FOE, 
And make my wars on you : look to *t: Come 

ON!" 

Coriolanus, Shakespeare. 

(2) Under dramatic inflection may be classed the 
compound or circumflex, which expresses satire, ridi- 
cule ; or extreme pathos and indignation, etc. 



METHODS, AND INFLECTION 113 

Examples: "I 'd rather be a dog, and bay the 
moon, than such a Roman! " (Indignation.) 
"I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not 

V V V V V V 

a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, 

passions? . . . subject to the same diseases 

. . . as a Christian is?" (Satire.) 

"O save me, Hubert, save me! " (Horror.) 
>* v ^ 

"Cry aloud; for he is a god; either he is talking, 

or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or perad- 

venture he sleepeth, and must be awaked." — 1 

Kings 18: 27. (Irony.) 



CHAPTER II 

EMPHASIS— INCLUDING STRESS 

54. i. Emphasis is, primarily and chiefly, a 
change of power in the utterance to express a change 
in the force of thought or feeling, more often in 
feeling than in thought. This change is from the 
normal and expected to the special and unexpected, 
thus giving the speaker power over the hearer. It 
is closely associated with inflection, generally coin- 
cident with it, and always on the accented syllable 
of a word. The purpose of inflection is to express 
the meaning clearly: the purpose of emphasis is to 
express the meaning more intensely. 

Unlike inflection, emphasis is produced : 

(/) By increased breath-pressure. 

(2) By increased resonance, causing a swelling 
tone. 

(j) By explosive utterance. 

(4) By pause — not rhythmic. 

(5) By various other means, as quickened or 

114 



EMPHASIS — INCLUDING STRESS 115 

retarded movement, sharpened articulation, separa- 
tion of syllables, etc., all of which belong to other 
modifications of utterance, but may be connected 
with emphasis, also, if used to increase a desired im- 
pression. Emphasis includes Stress and involves 
Slide, as will be shown below. 
2. Analysis of Emphasis: 

Emphasis, for convenience in study and practice, 
is divided as follows : 

(7) The emphasis of a word. 

(2) The emphasis of a sentence or phrase. 

(j) The emphasis of a succession of sentences. 

"As every word of more than one syllable has an accented 
syllable, and every grammatical group of words has an accented 
word, so every sentence or association of grammatical groups 
has an accented or emphatic idea. Emphasis is to verbal or 
clausal accents what the accents themselves are to unaccented 
syllables." — Bell's Principles of Elocution, p. 135. 

Word Emphasis. — This always falls on the ac- 
cented syllable. The only apparent exception is 
when the regular accent is changed for some pur- 
pose, as ' ' in-deed ' * for indeed (satirical). But even 
this comes under the law of the accented syllable. 
The change is in accent, not in emphasis. In fact, 
accent, itself, is the lowest degree of emphasis, but 
is not included within the meaning of that term, as 



Il6 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

here used, because accent, alone, does not neces- 
sarily emphasize thought or feeling. It belongs, 
rather, to the rhythm of speech (see Rhythm). 

It is evident that emphasis may fall on the begin- 
ning, middle, or end of the accented syllable, alone, 
or may run through the entire syllable, — to express 
various kinds of emotion. This variation of em- 
phasis has been called Stress, and has been treated 
as a separate principle; but as stress is nothing 
more or less than specially applied breath-pressure, 
and as emphasis is identical with it, in method and 
purpose, it is here included under emphasis. We 
have, then : 

A. Word-emphasis with initial or Radical Stress, 
the breath-pressure being applied at the beginning 
and vanishing to the end, — thus: O-o-oh! 1 repre- 
sented by O . 

B. Word-emphasis with middle or Median Stress, 
— thus: o-O-oh! with swell of tone in the middle, 
represented byO. 

This has the falling inflection delayed or held up, 
or coming at the end of a very short monotone or 
slightly rising inflection. The whole inflection of it 
may be represented thus / "X . 

1 The hyphens do not indicate any break in the continuous tone. 
The capitals indicate the relative places of the increased breath- 
pressure. 



EMPHASIS— INCLUDING STRESS 117 

C. Word-emphasis with final or Vanishing Stress, 
— thus : 0-0-Oh ! represented by <\. 

D. Word-emphasis with the Compound Stress, — 
thus: O-o-Oh! represented by £><3, or by B. 
intensified. 

This is coincident with compound or circumflex inflection and 
is the emphasis of that inflection. 

E. Word-emphasis with Thorough Stress, — thus: 
O-O-Oh ! represented by 1 i _ 

55. Uses of Word- emphasis. 

(/) Emphasis is applied, in some degree, to the 
principal words of any sentence, to bring out by the 
light and shade of utterance the meaning in its ele- 
ments. It is sentence-analysis by emphasis, to the ear 
— e. g., "It is natural to man to indulge in the illu- 
sions of hope " ; " As it was in the beginning, is now, 
and ever shall be. ' ' Other than principal words are 
unemphasized because they are necessary merely 
to the grammatical structure. 

(2) The Radical emphasis is used to call attention 
to the principal points of thought, or the antitheses 
of thought, rather than to the feeling. It gives life 
to statements and arguments. It has the falling 
inflection. 

Exercise. " Come all ! "• — "It is splendid/ " — 
"And it shall be, as with the people, so with the 



Il8 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 
v ^ ^ 

priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as 
with the maid, so with her mistress ; as with the 
buyer, so with the seller ; as with the lender, so 
with the borrower; as with the taker of usilry, so 
with the giver of usury to htm." — Isa. 24: 2. 

The proper use of the strong ox percussive radical adds greatly 
to the clearness, and prevents dulness, in the expression of ab- 
stract thought and high moral and religious reflections. 

( j) The Median Emphasis expresses solemn, sub- 
lime, and tender emotion. It is especially useful in 
poetry, in sympathetic speaking, and in the Bible 
and Prayer Book, where it may be considered as the 
ecclesiastical emphasis, because of the constant oc- 
currence of words that require reverent utterance. 
It admits of a variety of the most delicate shades, 
and needs much practice so as to produce the right 
impression and not be overdone. For instance, if 
unduly prolonged in the swell of the tone, it be- 
comes a wail, a howl, or a whine, characteristic of 
the most illiterate speakers — e. g., "And lose his 
own s-o-u-1," represented by «^^> , instead of 
<^> , or, in the inflection, by / \, in- 

stead of /' \ . Such a misuse also interferes 
with rhythm. 



EMPHASIS — INCLUDING STRESS II9 

Exercises : 

"O lonely tomb in Moab's land! 
On dark Beth-peor s hill ! 
Speak to these curious hearts of ours, 

And teach them to be still : 
God hath His mysteries of grace, 

Ways that we cannot tell ; 
He hides them deep like the secret sleep 
Of him He loved so well." 

Burial of Moses, C. F. Alexander. 

"We must all repent." — "For thou hast made of 
a city a heap ; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace 
of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built." — 
Isa. 25 : 2. 

In the "General Thanksgiving," "for all thy 
goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men." 

In the Prayer for the "whole state of Christ's 
Church militant," — "to the maintenance of thy true 
religion and virtue " "all the days of their life." 

{4) The final or vanishing emphasis expresses 
strenuous, invincible determination, unlimited sor- 
row, etc. — i. e. y any feeling so strong as to have no 
sign of ending. It is seldom used in church or pul- 
pit. A few passages in the Bible require it. The 
inflection is monotone. 



120 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

Exercise. "Attend all! " (authoritative). "How 
doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! 
how is she become as a widow ! she that was great 
among the nations, and princess among the pro- 
vinces, how has she become tributary!" — Lam. I : I. 

(In similar manner to the end of the eighth verse.) 

(5) The compound emphasis — emphasis with the cir- 
cumflex inflection — expresses satire, contempt, etc. 

Exercise. "What! All? did they all fail?" and 
see § S3* Exercise 6 (2). 

(6) The thorough emphasis is used in some strong 
passages in poetry and in speeches that require sus- 
tained orotund, but is not so marked a species of 
emphasis as the others. It should be avoided in 
most places where it is misused in heavy monotony. 
It makes words sonorous throughout and is equiva- 
lent to an emphatic monotone. 

Exercises. ' ' Come one — come ALL ! " — " Awake, 
arise, or be forever fallen." 

"What constitutes a state? 

Not high-iaised battlements or labored mound, 
Thick wall or moated gate ; 

Not cities proud with spires and turrets crowned ; 
Not bays and broad-armed ports, 

Where, laughing at the storms, rich navies ride; 



EMPHASIS— INCLUDING STRESS 121 

Not starred and spangled courts, 

Where low-browed baseness wafts perfume to 
pride. 

"No; men, high-minded men, 

With powers as far above dull brutes endued, 
In forest, brake or den, 

As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude — 
Men who their duties know, 

But know their rights, and knowing, dare main- 
tain — 
Prevent the long-aimed blow, 

And crush the tyrant while they rend the chain. " 

Sir William Jones. 

To the above may be added the Tremulous Stress, expressing 

horror, despair, etc. It should be voluntarily employed but 

seldom, if ever, in church or pulpit. 

.a. >v 

Exercise. " O s-a-v-e me, Hubert, s-a-v-e me ! 

56. Sentence {and Phrase) Emphasis. — This is ap- 
plied to the word which expresses the leading idea 
among words rhetorically grouped, generally in a 
sentence, sometimes in a phrase. It is mostly used 
to express irony, scorn, defiance, and the like. 

It is given in three ways : 

A. By sudden emphasis on the particular word — 



122 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

e.g., "I say without prejudice or regard for conse- 
quences, that he is a traitor! ' ' 

B. By use of the Slide of emphasis, or a gradual 
increase of emphasis on the accented syllables until 
the principal word is reached. This involves a 
gradual rise or fall of pitch. What has been called 
the slide of inflection is not justifiable except with 
the crescendo of emphasis, or, rarely, the diminuendo, 
in pathetic passages. 

C. By use of the Pause of Emphasis. This may 
accentuate an entire phrase or sentence, by setting 
it apart, — with or without special word- emphasis. 
It is different from the rhythmic pause in that it 
interrupts the movement, and is not marked off by 
the beat of the rhythm (see Rhythm). By its 
length is determined the amount of feeling to be 
expressed at that point in the delivery. It is some- 
times accompanied by ellipsis. Used in vivid de- 
scription, startling statement, defiance, etc. 

Exercises in Sentence Emphasis (slide and pause). 
"But where, thought I, is the crew? — their struggle 
has long been over: — they have gone down amidst 
the roar of the tempest ; — their bones lie whitening 
in the caverns of the deep." 

"Caesar had his Brutus! — Charles the First his 
Cromwell! —and George the Third — [in the ellipsis. 



EMPHASIS— INCLUDING STRESS 123 

cries of'' treason, treason ! "]— If this be treason 
— make the most of it ! ' ' " The war is inevitable — 
and let it come! — I repeat it, sir, let it come!" — 
Patrick Henry. 

Recite, also, "Brutus in Julius Ccesar," and Tous- 
saint rOuverture (§ 53). (In these, notice the ora- 
toric interrogation, with pause.) 

For sentence emphasis with slide of increase, and 
emphatic falling inflection, to express irony and 
scorn, read : 

"They that make a graven image are all of them 
vanity ; and their delectable things shall not profit ; 
and they are their own witnesses ; they see not, nor 
know, that they may be ashamed. . . . Then 
shall it be for a man to burn : for he will take 
thereof, and warm himself; yea, he klndleth it and 
baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and wor- 
shipeth it ; he maketh it a graven Image, and falleth 
down thereto. He burneth part thereof in the 
fire ; with part thereof he eateth flesh ; he roasteth 
roast, and is satisfied ; yea, he warmeth himself, and 
saith, Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire: — and 
the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his 
graven Image; he falleth down unto it, and wor- 
shipeth it, and prayeth unto it [series'], and saith, 
Deliver me, for thou art my God. [Long pause. 



124 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

resume with low tone.'] They have not known nor 
understo6d : for he hath shut their eyes that they 
cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot 
understand. And none considereth in his heart, 1 
neither is there kndwledge nor understanding to 
say, — I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also, 
I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have 
roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the 
residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to 
the stock of a tree? {Pause, resume with low tone.] 
He feedeth on ashes : a deceived heart hath turned 
him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, 
Is there not a lie in my right hand?" — Isaiah 44: 
9, 15-20. 

57. Emphasis extended through a succession or 
repetition of sentences, or Cumulative Emphasis. 

It is sometimes well to make a whole paragraph, 
or more, emphatic, but care must be taken to apply 
this kind of emphasis only to a most elevated style, 
which is sufficiently strong in meaning and feeling 
to bear it. 

Exercise. "Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are 
they Israelites? So AM /. Are they the seed of 
Abraham? So AM/." (Emphasis in repetition.) 

1 These circumflex marks indicate the satire of the author, rather 
than of the idolater. 



EMPHASIS— INCLUDING STRESS 125 

Observe sustained and cumulative emphasis, with 
pause, and declamatory force, with full orotund, in 
the following : 

"While the Union lasts, we have high, exciting, 
gratifying prospects spread out before us, for us and 
for our children. Beyond that I seek not to pene- 
trate the veil. God grant that, in my day, at least, 
that curtain may not rise ! God grant that on my 
vision never may be opened what lies behind. 
When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the 
last time, the sun in heaven, may I not see him 
shining on the broken and dishonored fragments of 
a once glorious Union; on States dissevered, dis- 
cordant, belligerent ; on a land rent with civil feuds, 
or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood ! Let 
their last feeble and lingering glance rather behold 
the gorgeous ensign of the republic, now known and 
honored throughout the earth, still 'full high ad- 
vanced,' — its arms and trophies streaming in their 
original lustre, — not a stripe erased or polluted, nor 
a single star obscured; bearing, for its motto, no 
such miserable interrogatory as, 'What is all this 
worth?' nor those other words of delusion and 
folly, 'Liberty first, and Union afterwards,' — but 
everywhere, spread all over, in characters of living 
light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float 



126 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

over the sea and over the land, and in every wind 
under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear 
to every true American heart, — 'Liberty and Union, 
now and forever, one and inseparable!'" — The 
American Union, Webster. 

For cumulative emphasis recite also, "From these 
walls," etc., Everett, §31. 

58. The degree of emphasis (as of inflection) can- 
not be exactly prescribed for any passage or for any 
speaker. It depends upon temperament, which 
must have its own free expression, and upon the 
occasion, including the acoustics of the building. 
Wise judgment, practice, experience, and cultivated 
feeling are needed here, and should be diligently 
employed before one feels qualified as a public 
speaker or preacher. It is not enough to say, 
"This is my way" ; but it is well to learn the way 
that will make the best use of one's temperament, 
vocal power, education, and opportunity, — under 
due control. 

One method of securing a tender, reverent em- 
phasis, of the most refined order, should be especially 
cultivated. It consists in opening the resonant 
cavities of the throat and mouth and making words 
fuller, without manifest increase of power — espe- 
cially when power would be offensive. In the office 



EMPHASIS— INCLUDING STRESS 1 27 

of the Holy Communion, at funerals, in sympa- 
thetic or memorial addresses and the like, this use 
of the voice is especially desirable. 

59. False Emphasis. — False emphasis, the indi- 
cation of a crude thinker, or an unmanageable voice, 
must be avoided by careful study of Bible, Prayer 
Book, and Sermon, before the public delivery ; and 
this study should be kept up during the lifetime, 
of course with a decreasing amount of uncertainties 
to settle. 

Certain errors and difficulties are discussed below : 

(1) In the Decalogue, emphasis upon "not" alone 
is wrong. It should be, "Thou shalt not," accord- 
ing to the colloquial use, "can't, won't/' etc., and 
according to the "emphatic conjugation." In the 
Creed, "He rose again" is wrong. It should be 
"rose again," — i. e., not a second time, but back 
from the dead. 

(2) Emphasis upon the personal pronouns is often 
misplaced. They are simply for grammatical form, 
and unemphatic, except when one person is to be 
distinguished from another. "Suffer us not at our 
last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from thee," 
suggests an unpleasant application to the person 
departed, instead of a general petition. 

In regard to pronouns referring to the Almighty, 



128 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

in many of the collects: "So rule the hearts of thy 
servants," is wrong; "servants" is the emphatic 
word. " We beseech thee" is generally wrong, 
especially in the Litany, the emphasis properly 
falling upon "beseech" "Almighty God, who hast 
given us grace" is wrong. It should be "grace" 
that word conveying the new idea. 

(3) Distributed Emphasis. — Special attention 
should be given to certain expressions, the emphasis 
of which has been disputed — e. g., some read, "And 
God said, Let there be light, and there was light," 
and "In the beginning was the Word, and the 
Word was with God, and the Word was God." 
Others read, "And there was light " "The Word 
was with God, and the Word was God. ' ' The author 
is of the opinion that the former reading, emphasiz- 
ing "was," but not too much, is the better, because 
more in accordance with natural usage, as in the 
following extract from Beveridge's The Russian 
Advance: "American flour looks better, tastes better, 

is better than that produced in B ." This is 

the natural emphasis. With no emphasis on ' ' was, ' ' 
in the Biblical passages, the new or additional 
thought is not brought out, and so the law of em- 
phasis is ignored, if not directly violated. The new 
meaning in the first sentence is : " And light came 



EMPHASIS— INCLUDING STRESS 129 

into being, or was ; hence the demand for some 
emphasis on "was." In the second sentence, the 
addition or differentiation of idea is expressed only 
in the words "with" and "was." Therefore some 
emphasis, at least, is demanded for those words. 

Now, if some regard the sacred passages quoted 
above as requiring a more dignified emphasis than 
the conversational, and if it is well to effect a com- 
promise, where so many differ, so that the reading 
of those verses may not be an offence to either 
party, it is recommended here that the emphasis 
be distributed, in this manner: "And there was 
light" "And the Word was with God, and the 
Word was God." 

"And they spoiled the Egyptians" (Ex. 12: 36) 
should be emphasized as marked, to bring out the 
particular meaning of spoil (despoil) and save the 
sentence from a ridiculous suggestion. "Behold 
the man " (St. John 19 : 5) should be emphasized thus, 
instead of on the word " man " alone, because Pilate 
was urgently calling the attention of the Jews to 
their victim — not distinguishing him as a man from 
any one or anything else. 

Similar study and use of distributed emphasis 
may be applied to many other passages, with advan- 
tage to reader and hearer. 



130 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

A beautiful instance of this use was once given 
in the reading of St. Mark 16: 3, 4, by a celebrated 
preacher. It expressed the joy of the faithful 
women, as follows: "And they said among them- 
selves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the 
door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, 
they saw that the stone WAS rolled away: for it was 
very great.' ' 

(4) A common error is to substitute drawl for 
emphasis, prolonging the word instead of giving it 
more volume. It alters the true quantity of vowels 
and syllables, breaks up the rhythm, and is, after all, 
ineffective. "I be-1-i-e-v-e" is not so forcible as "1 
believe," promptly uttered, and is no more rever- 
ent. "The L-o-r-d be with you" is not so correct 
as "Th£ Lord be with you." 

(5) The following instances have been noted by Dr. 
Russell: [In 3d, 4th, and nth note rhythmic pause.] 

" Determined to sail by Ephesus " should be " sail 
by Ephesus." — Acts 20: 16. 

" Saw in a vision evidently " should be as marked. 
— Acts 10 : 3. 

'* There were also two other, | malefactors/' etc. 
Emphasize "other" and pause. — St. Luke 23: 32. 

"They found Mary and Joseph, | and the babe 
lying in a manger." Without the pause at 



EMPHASIS— INCLUDING STRESS 131 

"Joseph," or with a pause after "babe," the read- 
ing is painfully absurd. — St. Luke 2: 16. 

"Servants, obey in all things your mhsters, ac- 
cording to the flesh." — Col. 3: 22. (Correct.) 

"And they that have believing masters, let them 
not despise them, because they are brethren." — 1 
Tim. 6: 2. (Correct.) 

"By that which is called the Circumcision | in the 
flesh I made by hands." — Eph. 2: 11. "In the 
flesh" is a parenthesis. 

"For then would they not have ceased to be 
dffered?" not "offered." — Heb. 10:2. Rising in- 
flection. 

"Because greater is he that is in you than he that 
is in the w6rld." — 1 John 4: 4. (Correct.) 

"And he spared to take of his own flock." — 2 
Sam. 12:4. (Correct.) 

"They took him even as he was | in the ship." — 
St. Mark 4: 36. (Correct.) 

"Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy 
burnt offering in every place that thou seest: but 
in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of 
thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offer- 
ings." — Deut. 12: 13, 14. (Correct.) 

"Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer dark- 
ness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 



132 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

—St. Matt. 25 : 30. (Correct.) [But,— read "weep- 
ing I and gnashing of teeth," not " weeping-and- 
gnashing | of teeth."] 

" Surely He hath borne our griefs" is correct in 
Isa. 53:4. 

(6) Subordination of Emphasis. — Whole phrases 
or sentences are sometimes made to express their 
subordinate relation to the context, by a reduction 
of the power in utterance, as if printed in small 
type. This is very important in narration and 
dialogue. In the following examples the small 
type denotes the subordinated passage : 

1 Kings 18. V. 24: And call ye on the name of 
your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: 
and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. 

And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. V. 26 ; 
Saying, O Baal, hear US. But there was no voice, nor any 

that answered. And they leaped upon the altar that 
was made. V. 30: And Elijah said unto all the 

people, Come near unto me. And all the people came 

near unto him. And he repaired the altar that was 
broken down. 

Daniel 5:2: Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, com- 
manded to bring the golden and silver vessels, 

which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple 

which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his 



EMPHASIS— INCLUDING STRESS 1 33 

princes, his wives and his concubines, might drink 
therein. 

St. John 4 : 26, 27 : Jesus saith unto her, I that speak 

unto thee am he. 

And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he 
talked with the woman : yet no man said, what seekest 
thou? or, why talkest thou with her? 

From a sermon: "But this subject is interminable. I am 
circumnavigating the whole orb of human experience. There is no 
end to it. Yet there is this clue. When our Master says to 
men who are weary and heavy laden, 'Come to me and I 

will give you rest,' he strikes that one single note, 
that blessed chord, which has vibrated through the 
ages. ' ' 



CHAPTER III. 



[Under this heading are included all the elements of the flow of 
speech.] 

60. The value of a "smooth delivery" in reading 
the service and in preaching cannot be over-esti- 
mated ; and its effect is well understood by our 
congregations. It is that quality which stamps 
a reader or speaker as above the ordinary, aside 
from his intellectual ability. It is indispensable to 
persuasion or eloquence : with good tone it consti- 
tutes the music of oratory, which a fine voice, 
alone, cannot produce. In some instances, for the 
satisfaction of an instinctive desire for musical 
smoothness, resort is made to sing-song; that is, a 
regular rise and fall of the voice, perhaps with 
pauses, regardless of adaptation to the meaning or 
different values of the words. But sing-song is 

1 Much of the substance of this chapter was published in the 
Church Eclectic for February, 1904. 

134 



RHYTHM 135 

rightly regarded by the intelligent as an offence to 
the cultivated ear. 

Now the true satisfaction of the instinct which is 
falsely expressed by sing-song, the remedy for that 
fault, and the secret of a smooth delivery, is the 
observance of rhythm. Rhythm, in reading or 
speaking prose, may be defined as the vocal expres- 
sion of the symmetrical and harmonious progression 
of thought. The rhythmic poetic form of Tenny- 
son's I11 Memoriam, although a meditative, philo- 
sophic poem, makes it finer than any plain prose 
treatise on the same subject. So, to a high degree, 
in the peroration of Webster's famous speech: 
" When my eyes shall be turned to behold | for 
the last time | the sun | in heaven" | etc., the 
strongly marked rhythm was an essential accom- 
paniment to his sonorous tones and his finished 
sentiment. Read this with a slide of the voice up 
to "time" and "heaven " and the rising inflection 
and pause there, only, and you have sing-song. 
' ' When my eyes, ' ' etc. , of even power and emphasis, 
would be unmusical; and, to take a metaphor from 
the animal kingdom, would be plantigrade — a flat- 
footed, clumsy progression. 

61. The sense of rhythm, for any purpose, is best 
learned from the highest kind of music. In orches- 



136 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

tra or chorus, the time is kept as an essential and 
predominant feature, and is absolute, — even retard 
or acceleration, rests or pauses, being governed by 
a physical or mental time-beat, with accent in every 
bar. The music, so-called, of congregational sing- 
ing "drags" when the sense of exact rhythm is 
lacking in the singers, or is not imperatively given 
by a leader. Music of some elaboration is most in- 
structive as to rhythm, because it involves so many 
details of melody and harmony ; and it should be 
noticed, also, in this connection, that all properly 
written music is built up with phrases, and the 
marking of these is indispensable to an artistic per- 
formance, either in two or more parts, or in solo. 

In poetry we find a second inspiration to rhythm, 
not absolute, but coming between the rhythm of 
music and that of a speech, as in the following lines 
from Tennyson : 

"And if his fel'low spake, 

His voice was thin' y as voices fr<5m the grdve; 
And de£p asleep he seem'ed, yet *SS! awake, 

And mtisic in' his ears his beating hedrt did makeY* 

It will be noticed that, in poetry, the accent often 
falls on the less important words, the form being 
of more special importance than in prose, for the 



RHYTHM I37 

sake of melody; but the accent, in such cases, is 
more lightly given in proper reading, and each line 
or phrase has its own chief emphasis, as indicated 
above. This adjustment shows the connecting link 
between the rhythm of poetry and the rhythm of 
prose. There is even a poetical element in good 
prose; but the rhythm of prose is approximate, as 
to regularity and exactitude, to that of poetry and 
music, and frequently changes its form. The ques- 
tion may be raised whether verses, even if rhymed, 
are poetry when the rhythmic form is largely absent 
throughout the lines. They are, at best, poetic 
thought rather than poetic form, as in Whitman 
and, sometimes, in Browning. 

Poetry emphasizes the general truth that rhythmic 
expression, in some form, is demanded for rhythmic 
thought. All thought that is clear has its accentua- 
tion, its phrasing, its pauses. Even logic, in the 
syllogism, suggests rhythm. Analysis, by expres- 
sion in progressive series of elements, may be 
rhythmical; premises, conclusions, balanced state- 
ments, — any parts of a symmetrical whole, — corre- 
spond in length and importance, and their expression 
is rhythmical. Spasmodic, obscure, or incomplete 
thinking is unrhythmical and cannot result in good 
poetry or good prose. 



138 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

The essential elements of prose rhythm are : 

1. Quantity. 2. Accent. 3. Phrase. 4. Move- 
ment. 5. Melody. 

62. Quantity is the relative length of tone in syl- 
lables and monosyllabic words. It corresponds to 
the whole note, half note, etc., of music, and to the 
probable pronunciation of *'long" and "short" 
syllables in Greek and Latin poetry. It belongs 
under the subject of rhythm because it is a regula- 
tion of the time employed in pronouncing syllables 
and is, therefore, one of the primary elements in 
the flow of speech. 

Quantity should not be ignored because so few 
speakers regard it. But there are always to be 
observed persons of refined speech, most of them 
women, whose conversation becomes even and 
rhythmic largely from making long vowels generally 
of the same length, in effect, and short vowels of the 
same brevity. But regulated quantity should be 
learned in preliminary practice, not adopted, con- 
sciously, in public use of the voice. 

According to the best authorities,' syllables may 
be classified, with respect to quantity, into : 

(1) Long — i. e. y containing the long vowels, — 
made, mode, etc. 

1 E.g., Murdoch-Russell in Vocal Culture. 



RHYTHM 139 

(2) Short — i. e., containing the short vowels, 
divided into : 

a. Immutable — L e., such as are, from their nature, 
incapable of prolongation, on account of the con- 
sonants associated with them, without positive 
mispronunciation, — as sick, convict, infect. 

b. Mutable— i. e., such as are capable of a slight 
degree of prolongation, zsyet in "not yet prepared? " 

Also, some consonants may contribute to the 
lengthening of the quantity by a more gradual 
formation of their sound than usual, as in b-oy, do, 
etc. , especially b, d, g, 1, m, n, r. This applies to 
the reverent utterance of the word God, which 
should be so pronounced as to have long quantity. 

A whole sentence may have longer quantity given 
to its long vowels for the expression of the greater 
emotions, as, "Deep calleth unto deep," — "Alone, 
alone, all, all alone. 

1 ' We praise Thee, O God, we acknowledge Thee to 
be the Lord. ' ' 

' ' Holy, holy, holy : Lord God of Sabaoth. ' ' 

"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the 
earth" 



This longer quantity, however, must be generally uniform 
or it will degenerate into drawl, which is unmeasured, un- 
rhythmic, indefinite prolongation — an element of sing-song. 



I40 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

63. Accent. — "All speech is composed of a suc- 
cession of heavy and light sounds, or accented and 
unaccented syllables, produced by the alternate 
action and reaction of the larynx, this organ being 
subject to the law of pulsation and remission common 
to all muscular effort" ' (or impulse and relaxation). 

In spoken English, the distinction between ac- 
cented and unaccented syllables is strongly marked. 
Every word has one or more accents, according to 
authorized pronunciation ; except ; , that monosyllables 
and some dissyllables may not and often do not 
have an accent of their own, but are used as enclitics, 
throwing their accent back upon the preceding word, 
or as proclitics, throwing their accent forward to the 
next word, as in "He found it." "He," when un- 
emphatic, is a proclitic ; "it" is an enclitic. Such 
words may have the secondary accent, only, as in 
"In" a wor'd." 

The "pulsative act," referred to, above, necessi- 
tates the utterance of successive syllables in groups, 
in each of which a primary accent predominates, as, 
mor'-al-ly, spiritually, "Look at it ! " In the form- 
ing of these groups, which are sometimes called 
measures, and may be composed of one or more 
words, not more than five syllables can be included 

1 Murdoch in Analytic Elocution, p. 378. 



RHYTHM 141 

in one of them, one accented and four unaccented, 
and each group is uttered by one impulse and one 
relaxation of the voice. The impulse, or accent, 
may be upon one word, the relaxation upon an- 
other, as in " Fi'nd him ! " 
There are five kinds of accentual group or measure ■ : 

(1) The Emphatic Measure. — One syllable, long 
quantity, effect of accented and unaccented utter- 
ance in one syllable. "Stand I fast!" "Cry | fire!" 

(2) The Common Measure. — Two syllables, as hum- 
ble, indeed, — accent on either first or second syllable. 

(3) The Triple Measure. — Three syllables, the im- 
pulse on the first or third, the relaxation on the 
two others, in one word or parts of two words, 
as, "natural," "speaking in | parables," "In the 
end I he was found." 

(4) The Quadruple Measure. — Four syllables, in 
one or more words, relaxation on three of the syl- 
lables, as, comfortingly, "Give' it to me," — when 
"me" is unemphatic. "Give' it | to m£" would be 
in common measure. But quadruple is often made 
common measure by a secondary accent, as, "Give 
it to" me!" 

(5) The Accelerated Measure. — Five syllables — the 

1 See Murdoch, Analytic Elocution, in part. The accent here does 
not indicate inflection. 



142 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

relaxation in four of them, as, spiritually, volunta- 
rily. This is a possible measure, but, in fact, is gen- 
erally formed into two, one Common and one Triple, 
by a secondary accent, as, spiritu- | al"-ly, volun- | 
tarily — to prevent the tumbling of too many unac- 
cented syllables. It is called "accelerated" because 
it necessitates a very rapid enunciation of the un- 
accented syllables, an evidence of the strong and 
characteristic tendency, in this country, at least, for 
the common and triple measures to predominate. 
E.g., the Syrian immigrant says, " Je'r-u-sa-lem," 
the American, "Je-ru-sa-le"m." Some Englishmen 
say "necessary" with tumbling, unaccented syl- 
lables; the American, more rhythmically, says, 
' ' nec'-es-sa"-ry . /. e. y in words of more than three 
syllables, a secondary, or even a tertiary, accent 
may be added to form an accentuation in the effect 
of common time, as in In-com /// -pre-hen"-si-bil-ity, 
by "accelerating" any triplet, or quadruplet, so 
that the quantity is even. 

Words may be so arranged as to make an agree- 
able and measured sequence of accents — e. g., "He 
was there, always, for business that was important" 1 
may be changed to, "He was always th6re for im- 
portant business." 

1 Accelerated — toward the last syllable of the measure. 



RHYTHM 143 

The only excuse for pronouncing the final ed of the past 
tense, separately, in the Bible, is the demand for rhythmic ac- 
centuation, as in: " The parch-ed ground shall becom'e a pool," 
and "A bruis-ed reed shall he n6t break." But " Hallowed" is 
better than "hallow-ed" in saying the Lord's Prayer. It is 
clearly seen, in the foregoing explanation, that agreeably regu- 
lated accent works into rhythm. 

The examination of the Measure shows that there 
are metrical "feet" in prose as well as in poetry, 
also that the accent of a measure or foot is not 
necessarily on the first syllable of a word. For 
these reasons, prose rhythm is best formed on the 
basis of the metrical foot, not on the musical "bar" 
the accent of which is always on the first note, or 
beat. The effort, in some former treatises on elo- 
cution, to mark off prose in bars seems mechanical, 
unreal, irritating, and often futile. In fact, no 
arrangement, of much length, according to the bar, 
can be made without frequently introducing pauses, 
or rests, at the beginnings of the bars to eke out 
the measure. These difficulties may explain why 
prose rhythm has been so much neglected or mis- 
understood. But as the sense of rhythm arises in 
musical feeling, where the time and accent are abso- 
lute, and comes through the modified and less exact 
forms in poetry, as in language distinguished from 
music, and then finds satisfaction in a close approxi- 



144 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

mation to poetic form and more distant approxima- 
tion to musical form, it seems more correct and 
natural, and certainly is more effective, to base the 
rhythm of prose, not upon the musical bar, but 
upon the poetic foot, with a poetic freedom in loca- 
tion of accent. 

Various poetic feet enter into prose, as will be seen 
in the following illustrations : 

Quick, nervous appeals and the like may be dac- 
tylic, as "Give' him his | due!" or anapestic, as, 
"In a word' | he is false 7 ! " The Trochee is found 
only in the briefest expressions, and therefore needs 
no consideration. Feet accented on the first syllable 
do not enter largely into serious prose, being too light 
and lively in effect for sustained expression. But the 
Iambus, ^ — , is the prevalent foot in all urgent or 
eloquent speech, especially when that is long sus- 
tained and periodic, and leads up to a climax. (See 
Note II, Appendix.) The coming instead of the 
departing accent is consistent with the coming word 
of emphasis, as in 
"No ey'e | has seen him, | 

No ear | has heard him, | 

The se'- | cret is' | his ow'n | and it" | is sdfe" 

Webster. 

" Is " and " it " have very light, secondary accent, enough for 
the special distinctness of oratory; "him" in both instances 



RHYTHM 145 

stands precisely as the additional syllable at the end of a line of 
poetry, and as an enclitic in Greek. The general effect is de- 
cidedly Iambic. 

The following Trochaic or musical-bar arrange- 
ment is contrasted with the Iambic : 

"It re- I mains with | you then | — to de- | cide | 
whether that | freedom | — at | whose | voice | — 
the I kingdoms of | Europe | —a- | woke from the 
I sleep of I ages | " etc. (Quoted as marked; the 
accent is on the first syllable of the bar and — indi- 
cates a rest instead of the missing primary accent.) 

The poetic or Iambic : 

(2) 
" It I remains' | with y6u | — then' | to decide | 

1 whether | that free'- | dom at" | whose voice | the 

(2) (2) (2) 

king' I doms of Eu- | rope awdke | from the sleep | 

of a- I ges, ' ' etc. 

Recite the two arrangements rapidly with strong 
accent to test the rhythm. Anapests are found 
in this as in many poetic lines, without marring the 
Iambic effect. They are "accelerated." 

Recite also : 

"/ J am the res"- | urrec- | tion | and the life' | 
saith the Lor'd | — h£ | that believ- | eth in m£ | — 
though I he were dead | — ye"t | shall he live' " 
(Anapestic). 

1 Rhythm interrupted, or, better, a measure of four syllables, as | 
whether that free | . 2 Anapests. 



146 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

In the above examples it is seen that prose rhythm 
is liable to interruption or cessation of foot-form, 
and to change of foot, as in poetry. But these 
would be fatal to musical arrangement. An un- 
varying regularity of accent, like the scanning of 
poetry, would be artificial and obnoxious ; but, as a 
basic element of rhythm, recurring accent, with 
proximate regularity, is real, and a large contribu- 
tion to the smoothness of delivery. 

Rhythmical accentuation in delivery gives ease to 
articulation. It also helps to prevent the eccentric, 
exaggerated, or misplaced emphasis which belongs 
to sing-song, especially the undue prominence given, 
sometimes, to prepositions, conjunctions, and pro- 
nouns that are grammatically necessary, but not 
emphatic. For example, "All the deceits of the 
world," "the communion of saints," "the forgive- 
ness of sins, ' ' and the like, are wrong. [' ' Light of 
light," etc. (right), in the Nicene Creed, are excep- 
tions, the "of" having there a peculiar meaning re- 
quiring emphasis.] "For all thy goodness " (Gen. 
Thanksgiving), "Let all the earth keep silence be- 
fore him" frequently heard, are wrong. They 
should be, "For all thy goodness," "Keep silence 
before him," i. e. "in his presence" not "in his 
presence," because in either example there is no 



RHYTHM 147 

possible doubt as to whose goodness or presence 
is referred to. "As it was in the beginning" (too 
rigidly rhythmic) for "As it was \ in the beginning." 
"Lord God of Sabaoth" for "Lord God of Sab- 
aoth." And so in scores of examples that might be 
cited. 

64. Phrase or Phrasing. — This is an element that 
may or may not include prosodial feet. It is the 
grouping of words in the delivery (not necessarily 
by following the punctuation), so as to concentrate 
attention upon a section of the thought and indi- 
vidualize it, differentiate it, or cause it to balance 
another phrase. 1 Phrasing is effected by (1) Pause, 
which separates from surrounding words ; or by (2) 
A gradual approach or slide to the chief emphasis 
on the last accented syllable. This pause may be 
just long enough to make the separation, or it may, 
for emphasis, become a part of a phrase, and in that 
case must have its rhythmical measure, short or long, 
according to the emphatic or solemn character of the 
style. Too long a pause for emphasis, only, may 
cause attention to relax by disturbing the rhythm ; 
too short a pause may fail to effect the phrasing. 

Apart from poetic feet, but not from poetic 
suggestion, we may regard phrasing as the most 

1 See Note III, in Appendix. 



148 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

characteristic and essential element of prose rhythm. 
It may or may not include a regular accentuation, 
but the swing and balance of phrases, varied in force 
and time, make a flexible medium for the expression 
of rhythmic thought, prevent sing-song, and consti- 
tute, with fine tone, the music of oratory. 

In cases where phrases balance one another, a 
long one may be spoken more rapidly, or a short 
one more slowly. The few words are likely to be 
more weighty, individually, than the many words 
of a longer phrase, as : 

Yet we suf- | fer ourselVes | to go on || y£ar | after 
year | . The second phrase may take about as 
much time as the first. 

[In this and in many cases, the speech-phrase is the passage be- 
tween pauses, and may be a grammatical sentence.] 

As an example of proper phrasing the Prayer of 
St. Chrysostom is marked, below : 

" Almighty God 1 || who hast given us grace (1) | 
at this time with one accord to make our common 
supplications unto thee; || and dost promise (1) | 
that when two or three are gathered together in thy 
name | thou wilt grant their requests ; | Fulfil, now, 

1 At these lines which indicate a single or double pause, in some 
cases the pause is almost imperceptible, a slight lift of the voice on 
the last word of the phrase taking its place, as at (1). 



RHYTHM 149 

O Lord, I the desires and petitions of thy servants, | 
as may be most expedient for them ; [granting us in 
this world (1) | knowledge of thy truth | and in the 
world to come | life everlasting." 

The rhythmic character of the Bible and the 
Prayer Book is generally admired. The translators 
and compilers seem to have been saturated with the 
essence of Hebrew poetry and the rhythm of the 
Elizabethan English. Why should not the reading 
correspond? The rapid, monotonous utterance in 
' ' short services ' ' is inexcusable. Far better to ab- 
breviate than to scramble. 

In sermons, the same principles apply, especially 
in passages intended to persuade or inspire. It is 
often well to recast a sentence, while writing, so 
that it may be spoken rhythmically. But, on the 
other hand, there may be some sentences, especially 
in our modern, nervous, writers, which seem to be 
made unrhythmic for the sake of producing a suc- 
cession of strongly individualized emphases, or for 
the lack of language more adequate to express the 
desired meaning. An example is taken at random 
from one of Bishop Brooks' sermons, with the rhythm, 
phrasing, etc., indicated: "Now use the tl-lus-tra- 
tion. I do not know that /can state it better" (regu- 
larly iambic). ' ' The law of constraint | is that which 



150 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

grows out of man's outward relations with God. j| 
The law of liberty | is that which issues from the 
tendencies of a man's own nature \ inwardly filled 
with God." This is unrhythmic except in the 
balance of sentences and phrases, which reveals the 
rhythm of the thought. But, as the writer comes 
to the conclusion of the paragraph, the style changes 
into the rhythm of accentuation: "Just as soon as a 
man gets into such a condition \ that every freedom \ 
sets toward duty, \ then \ evidently | he will need no 
law | except | that freedom | and all duty | will be 
reached and done." 

Other examples of phrasing will occur in the quo- 
tations that follow, in this chapter. 

65. Movement, or the rate of utterance. 

(1) This would be of no consequence unless con- 
nected with the preceding elements of rhythm, for 
it is a regulated and measured movement, alone, 
that belongs to the art of delivery, as a tempo 
marked off by beats, alone, belongs to music. 

For convenience, movement may be divided into 
slow, moderate, and quick. The moderate movement 
may be considered as the natural rate of ordinary 
speech, where there are no peculiarities, in calm 
description, statement, and argument. It has vari- 
ous degrees of speed within its own limits. Slow 



RHYTHM 151 

and quick movements are those especially used for 
solemn or emphatic effect. They, only, need 
attention. 

(2) In general, three cautions may be observed by 
each speaker in regard to this element : 

a. To ascertain if his own natural rate of utter- 
ance in reading or speaking, appears to good judges 
abnormally fast or slow; if it does, to practise the 
opposite kind of movement. 

b. To observe that every passage of strong mean- 
ing or emotive power needs its own appropriate 
movement, which must be followed, or the effect 
of the passage will be entirely lost. The torrent of 
words affected by some speakers, as if rush meant 
solid fervor, is fatal to rhythmic delivery, and leads 
almost inevitably to sing-song. Tumultuous think- 
ing results in unrhythmic style, however forcible it 
may seem, and the language of it is not easily 
understood by the multitude. 

c. To change the movement from moderate to 
slow or quick, etc., as changes occur in the passages 
delivered. An undeviating rate is monotonous and 
wearisome. In the same chapter in the Bible, in 
the same sermon, there may be several changes of 
sentiment which should affect the movement. 

(3) For practice in slow movement, read Genesis 1 : 



152 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

i— 13, Psalm 130, and the Burial Service, especially 
the Committal. 

4. For practice in moderate movement, read the 
Exhortation in the Prayer Book. Also, apply this 
rate to the first part of sermons. 

5. For practice in quick movement, which for 
the sake of command of articulation, etc., should 
be made by degrees as rapid as possible, and then 
adapted to the passage, recite : 

(a) "Behind shut the postern, the light sank to rest, 
And into the midnight we galloped abreast. 
Not a word to each other; we kept the great 

pace, 
Neck by neck, stride for stride, never changing 

our place ; 
I turned in my saddle, and made its girth 

tight, 
Then shortened each stirrup, and set the pique 

right, 
Rebuckled the check-strap, chained slacker the 

bit, 
Nor galloped less steadily, Roland, a whit." 

Browning. 

(b) "To form an idea of Caesar's energy and 
activity, observe him when he is surprised by the 



RHYTHM 153 

Nervii. His soldiers are employed in pitching their 
camp. The ferocious enemy sallies from his con- 
cealment, puts the Roman cavalry to rout, and falls 
upon the foot. Everything is alarm, confusion, and 
disorder. Every one is doubtful what course to take 
— every one but Caesar. He causes the banner to be 
erected, the charge to be sounded, the soldiers at a 
distance to be recalled — all in a moment. He runs 
from place to place ; his whole frame is in action ; 
his words, his looks, his motions, his gestures, exhort 
his men to remember their former valor. He draws 
them up, and causes the signal to be given — all in a 
moment. The contest is doubtful and dreadful; 
two of his legions are entirely surrounded. He 
seizes a buckler from one of the private men, puts 
himself at the head of his broken troops; darts 
into the thick of the battle, rescues his legions, 
and overthrows the enemy." — Julius Ccesar, J. S. 
Knowles. 

6. Note that expressions of approval and pathos 
are slow; e.g., the Beatitudes (Matt. 5), Matt. 25: 
23, and the story of the crucifixion ; of disapproval, 
are quick-moderate (Matt. 25 : 26, 27). 

Note change of movement in dialogue, as from the 
light, thoughtless words of the woman of Samaria 
to the grave and gentle replies of our Lord. (Note 



154 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

also tone-color here.) Also in the Parable of the 
Prodigal Son, Luke 15: 11-32. V. 12, quick. V. 
14, slow. Verses 17-19, slow. V. 20: "And he 
arose and came to his father" (moderate). "But 
when he was yet a great way off " (slow), "his father 
saw him, and had compassion on him, and ran, and 
fell on his neck, and kissed him" (increasing in 
quickness). 

Note also that a parenthesis is quick, if unem- 
phatic, slow if emphatic ; e. g., Eph. 2 : 5, "By grace 
ye are saved " (slow). 

7. The subject of movement is a very complex 
one, and explicit directions cannot be given; but 
much study and practice should be devoted to it. 

66. Melody. — In music this term is used to denote 
an agreeable succession of sounds, not all on the 
same pitch, and giving the impression of a begin- 
ning, a progression, and an ending, like a complete 
sentence in speaking. It is often equivalent to 
"tune " or "air." In elocution the term is limited 
to agreeable successions of pitch, both in single 
words and in successive phrases and clauses. It 
consists of the "employing and combining of in- 
flections" (Raymond). In conversation, every ut- 
terance contains changes in pitch, as we saw under 
"Inflection "(§ 50). 



RHYTHM /"-"^"I55 



Is he here?" "* 
/ 



Examples : 

' * Where has he gone ? ' ' 



He was here. 
-" / 



In poetry we observe similar changes. 
Example : 
"For woman is not undevelopt mdn, 
_ — _ __ / 

But diverse : could we make he> as a mdn, 
Sweet Love were slain : whose dearest bond is this, 

Not like to like, but like in difference." 

In well-written prose, the successions of pitch are 
strongly marked in its proper delivery, as in, 

"She was dead. Dear, gentle, patient, noble Nell 

• ™^™ ■"■" ™~ ~ 

was dead." 



156 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

The above marks are used to indicate the possible 
relative changes in separate words, As will be evi- 
dent, in many cases these changes run into each 
other, producing the slide of inflection, and with this 
there is always the slide of emphasis ; i. e., the 
change of pitch and emphasis runs through the 
sentence, clause, or phrase, without abrupt break 
anywhere. 

Note. — Change of pitch regulated by thoughtful sentiment is 
Melody. Change of pitch unregulated by thought is Sing-song. 

Other examples, illustrative of melody, may be 
found in this book, especially those of marked 
beauty of style, among which may be mentioned : 
Webster's The American Union, Everett's Love of 
Liberty, both in sonorous melody; The Death of 
Little Nell, by Dickens, throughout, in pathetic 
melody. 

6j. Although we find, as shown by the examples, 
strong reasons for securing that musical and poetic 
culture which shall so train the ear that rhythmic 
reading and speaking shall become an instinctive 
necessity, yet rhythm must be regarded as a means 
and not an end. The rhythm may be strongly 
marked in practice for training, but in the ordinary 
rendering, it is safest to give the sense, and let the 



RHYTHM 157 

rhythm, whether in prose or poetry, take care of 
itself, which it certainly will, after sufficient train- 
ing, remaining as a desirable element of the "swing" 
and " flow " of speech and the basis of that general 
movement, fast or slow, which distinguishes one 
passage, throughout, from another, just as the 
"tempo" of one "movement" of a symphony 
differs from that of another. 

The practising of rhythm corrects many faults of 
expression ; for rhythm is vivid, musical, and agree- 
able — the method of culture. Sing-song is mechani- 
cal, involuntary, tedious, and undignified — a crude 
expedient. "Sing-song is the rhythm of feeling 
without the rhythm of ideas " (Dr. Curry). Breath- 
ing and gesticulation, or any oratorical action, can 
be made to fit in with the rhythm of thought and 
speech, and then, if the foregoing principles are 
observed, the whole personality of the speaker is in 
harmonious activity. 

68. Exercises in Rhythm. 

1. The rhythm of a clear, simple, and fervid style, 
especially as shown in successive phrasing and bal- 
anced emphases, like the throbbing of a great heart, 
is finely exemplified in the following passage from 
Lincoln's second inaugural address: "Fondly do we 
hope J fervently do we pray | that this mighty scourge 



158 ADAPTATION TO THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT 

of war I may speedily pass away. ||Yet, | if God wills 
that it continue | until all the wealth \ piled by the 
bondman s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited 
toil I shall be sunk, || and until ^wrj/ dfo?/ of ^/<?^ 
J drawn by the /#^ | shall be paid by another \ 
drawn with the sword — || as was said three thou- 
sand years ago, I so still it ;/z#.tf be j«^, || 'They&a^- 
ments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether, ' ' ' 

^. Mark in the above manner, or with the pros- 
odial feet, also, the following quotations, and recite 
them accordingly : 

From these Walls. — Everett. § 31. 

The Death of Little Nell.— Dickens. § 31. 

The Church of God. — De Koven. § 31. 

The American Union. — Webster. § 57. 



PART IV 

GESTURE ; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 

69. Gesture , its Scope and Meaning. — Gesture in- 
cludes every physical position or motion which can 
be used to suggest, emphasize, or symbolize thought 
or emotion. It is a natural accompaniment to 
mental activity in speech. It completes the har- 
mony of mind and body and of the whole personality 
in the act of expression. It is true and effective 
when it originates in the psychic condition, false and 
useless when it is mechanically supplied through 
imitation or indistinct purpose. It holds the eye of 
an audience while the voice holds the ear. It is 
more expressive of emotion than of thought and, 
therefore, is properly used in oratory to intensify 
and complete vocal expression, rather than as a 
substitute for it, as in pantomime. The delivery of 
the Apostles' Creed in the sign-language of deaf- 
mutes is an instance of the power of gesture to 
almost equal the vocal expression of what is fa- 
miliar and expected. Whatever gesture is properly 

159 



l6o GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 

employed is as important as the voice to complete 
oratoric effect, and no speech or sermon should be 
delivered without expression through action. (See 
Note I, in Appendix.) 

70. In this manual there are presented only the 
main principles of gesture with their most prominent 
applications. For detailed analysis and illustration 
of all possible gestures, the student is referred to the 
various treatises on this subject. What is given 
here is intended to be sufficient for those who are 
training to be preachers. 

Gesture, as above defined, may be classified as 
follows : 

/. Gesture of attitude. 

2. Gesture of the head. 

3. Gesture of the face. 

4. Gesture of the hands. 

This is the order in which the development of 
physical expression occurs in speaking. It proceeds 
from within outward, from the general to the par- 
ticular. Each class involves any that precedes it, 
not necessarily any that follows it. 

71. Gesture of Attitude.— -This precedes all other 
gesture, as the trunk of a tree the branches, in the 
history of its growth. It has also a meaning of its 
own. It may be : /. Normal. 2. Special. 



GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION l6l 

/. The Normal Attitude should be with head 
erect, body well poised on one foot, the other foot, 
with relaxed leg, being at an angle of about seventy- 
degrees to the line of direction of the supporting 
foot. This attitude, when easily taken, indicates 
calmness, self-control, and readiness for further 
expression. 

The position of the feet may be transposed from 
time to time, for muscular relief, and to emphasize 
naturally a marked change in the progress of the 
speech. But such change should be made at the 
right moment. "The changes of position should 
always be made (except only the retiring movement, 
at the close of a paragraph, or of a division of the 
subject) during the act of speaking, and not at the 
pauses" (Prof. Russell). Too frequent changes, or 
changes without rhetorical occasion, are nervous, 
abnormal, and belittling to the general effect. 

This normal attitude should give the feeling of 
perfect physical poise, and may be acquired by the 
practice of Exercise I , § 24. The entire bearing 
and feeling of the speaker (and, sometimes, of the 
audience as well) may be uneasy or awkward, if the 
feet are too wide apart, or too near, or if the atti- 
tude is not firmly and gracefully erect. 

All of the above has full application on the 



l62 GESTURE ; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 

platform, in ordinary garb. In the pulpit and in 
vestments the effect of the attitude on the audience 
is from the waist up, only, but upon the preacher the 
effect of the whole attitude is the same, and should 
be secured. 

2. The Special Attitude, — For purposes of par- 
ticular expression or general emphasis; e.g., more 
firmly erect, or even drawn back, to express deter- 
mination, conviction, indignation, opposition, etc., 
especially at the moment of change from one posi- 
tion to another, perhaps swaying a little with a 
forcible head or hand gesture ; or relaxed, to express 
gentleness, courtesy, humility, fear, etc. 

72. Gesture of the Head. — Besides contributing to 
the general attitude, the head may be very expres- 
sive of mental and emotional variations : 

1. By inclination forward and downward, in the 
following degrees: A. Courtesy. B. Affection. 
C. Deference. D. Reverence. E. Humility. 

2. By lifting it upward and backward, as follows : 
A. Affirmation. B. Conviction. C. Determina- 
tion. D. Hope. E. Enthusiasm. 

j. By turning it away from the front : A. Nega- 
tion. B. Contempt. C. Horror (backward and 
upward). 

73. Gesture of the Face. — This follows or accom- 



GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 163 

panies gesture of the head, but has also its special 
use. A mobile face is essential to an orator, not in 
dramatic or exaggerated degree, but in slight mo- 
tions which indicate mental or emotional activity. 
The whole face may be firmly set or gently relaxed. 
But none of its expressions should become involun- 
tary or merely habitual. They should be sym- 
metrical in every instance (except for humorous 
purposes), and, in many cases, need training, or, at 
least, correction, as, for instance, to remove the 
awkwardness of a one-sided use of the mouth — too 
firmly compressed lips — too trap-like shutting of the 
mouth (mannerism) — too relaxed a lower jaw, sug- 
gesting looseness of purpose, or indecision. The 
most expressive, because mobile, features are the 
eyes and the mouth — the other parts of the face 
taking different tone from the movements of these. 
The eyes, "the windows of the soul," come first 
in importance. Whether one is using a manuscript 
or not, they can establish a communication between 
speaker and audience, — but rarely by fixing the gaze 
on any individual. The eyes (with the voice) are 
the chief media of the "magnetism " of an orator, 
and are the focus of attitude, head, face, and hand, 
when used together. Fixing the eyes on a manu- 
script kills magnetism, and even sympathy and 



164 GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 

attention, to a large degree. When reading, the 
glance that collects the words of a phrase, in advance 
of utterance, should be taken at the pauses, so as 
not to interrupt the continuity of the eye-communi- 
cation. In fact the expressive eye is a gesture of 
mutual intelligence. The eyes follow the move- 
ments of head or hands. 

The mouth, by the mobility of the lips, can serve 
to indicate many phases of feeling from rigid deter- 
mination to the blandest benevolence. A great 
orator of thirty years ago was often seen to prepare 
his audience for a humorous remark or illustration 
by the quaint curl of his upper lip, visible to all who 
were held by his eye. (This is introduced for illus- 
tration, not for imitation.) 

74. Gesture of the Hands. — In this action, the 
arms are included, but no movements of the arms 
have grace or force except as they reach conclusion 
in the hands. Hence they are included under this 
head. 

Gesture of the Hands may be divided according to 
the psychic attitude, into : 

/. Gestures of the Conversational Plane. 

2. Gestures of the Oratoric Plane. 

j. Gestures of the Dramatic Plane. 

(1) Gestures of the Conversational Plane arise 



GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 165 

naturally in animated conversation. They radiate 
from the elbow and involve but little action of the 
upper arm, but may be accompanied by gesture of 
the head and face. 

They are appropriate to simple, unimpassioned, 
but slightly emphatic discourse, to introductions, 
etc. They are used more in easy, extemporaneous 
speaking than in emphatic oratory, and are the 
normal, spontaneous gestures as contrasted with 
those for special effect. 

(2) Gestures of the Oratoric Plane radiate from the 
head, i. e. y in the lines of motion which the hands 
take, and demand more muscular force than the 
conversational. The whole arm is involved, and the 
attitude of the trunk is more firm to support them. 
In making them, the trunk should sway or yield to 
the arm motion only when the utmost emphasis is 
to be expressed. Thus does the gesture proceed 
from a fixed point or base, and correspond to the 
mental attitude and action. 

(3) Gestures of the Dramatic Plane. — These are 
above, below, or more extended, more rapid and 
forcible than the gestures of the other planes, and 
often involve unusual attitudes and movements. 
They may be pantomimic, startling, intensely em- 
phatic. They are appropriate only rarely in regular 



l66 GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 

oratory. If frequently used, they become a man- 
nerism. Used in excess, they have sometimes 
marred an otherwise brilliant delivery, as in the case 
of a certain orator, who, as Wendell Phillips said, 
acted in speaking, "like a monkey in convulsions." 

Dramatic gestures are generally out of place in 
the pulpit. On the platform, on secular occasions, 
they are sometimes very effective. Abraham Lin- 
coln, when summing up his argument in a great 
speech in Cooper Union, New York, just before his 
election, stooped to the platform with his tall, gaunt 
form, extended his long arms as low as they could 
reach, and then, as he came to his conclusion, drew 
himself and his arms upward, as if to gather into one 
gigantic grasp all the points of the discussion. That 
was a grandly forcible — if not entirely graceful — 
dramatic gesture. 

75. General Qualities of Gestures with the Hands. 
— According to the principle named in § 69, there 
are certain general qualities of all gestures, which 
agree with psychic conditions ; such as are mentioned 
by Mr. Gilbert Austin in his Cheironomia: 

"Magnificence," expressed by movements sug- 
gestive of a large sphere of thought and action 
— contrasted with feeble, awkward, undecided 
movements. 



GESTURE: OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 167 

"Boldness" and "energy," indicated by the 
strength and precision of the stroke of the gesture. 

"Variety," showing the response of the gesture 
to changes in sentiment. It prevents the constant 
recurrence of the same, or a favorite gesture, or any- 
thing like "pump-handle" motion. 

"Simplicity," showing an exact correspondence to 
the sentiment, not exceeding or falling short of it. 
Opposed to this is affectation, or the use of merely 
imitative gestures. 

76. The Particular Use of the Hands, 

Note i. — For practice in developing strength, precision, and 
flexibility, use Exercise 9 d and e, § 24. 

Note 2. — All gestures start from the primary position, i. e. t 
hands hanging easily at the sides. 

The hand is used in the following ways : 
/. Supine. — Palm upward, forefinger straight, 
thumb at angle of a little less than 40 to the fore- 
finger, two middle fingers together, little finger 
slightly apart.. General position like that taken in 
cordially offering the hand to a friend. 

Great care is generally necessary in learning the use of this 
position to see that the fingers are extended sufficiently and 
with nervous tension. The slightest inward curve gives the im- 
pression of feebleness or vacuity. A little observation shows 
that the muscles governing the thumb, forefinger, and little 



1 68 GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 

finger are much stronger than those affecting the two middle 
fingers. This fact is apparent in piano-playing, and is the 
natural reason for the standard directions for the supine posi- 
tion. To correct feebleness, and lack of openness, in practising 
Exercise io d, § 24, see that at the instant of full extension, a 
slight muscular tension is felt all the way from the upper arm to 
the tips of the thumb, forefinger, and little finger. 

The general meaning of this position is assertion, whether 
affirmative or negative. 

2, Prone. — Palm downward (same relative position 
of fingers and thumb as in the supine). 

General meaning — superincumbency or superposi- 
tion, whether for good or ill, including a great 
variety of effects, all different from those produced 
by the supine. The prone, with flat palm, rejects, 
represses, blesses, etc. ; with forefinger made a little 
prominent, it particularizes, localizes, warns, etc. 
The elevation adopted is important. 

3. Both Hands, in either supine or prone position, 
have the additional force of expansion or extension 
of space, thought or feeling, comprehension, etc. 
Are also used to strengthen the effect of one, 

/j.. The Vertical Hand, palm to the front, ex- 
presses strong aversion, contradiction, etc., as with 
"Drive back the heathen invaders! " 

5. The Index Finger, with other fingers closed on 
the palm and thumb at angle of 30 to the fore- 



GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 169 

finger, or down on the second finger, expresses special 
designation, precision, scorn, contempt, etc., as with, 
" Thou art the man ! " " Thou traitor ! " " Right 
there is the point ! " 

This gesture should not be constantly employed 
for ordinary, assertive emphasis. 

N. B. — In the use of the foregoing gestures the angle of the 
arm, on the horizontal plane, with respect to the central line of 
the face is ordinarily about 45 °. Gestures outside of that angle 
indicate remoteness ; inside, nearness. 

6. The above are the primary, or ordinary ges- 
tures. Special gestures belong, generally, to the 
dramatic plane, as: clenched fist, folded hands, 
clasped hands, hands with palms together, arms 
folded, hand on heart, hand to ear, hands stretched 
to the utmost above the head, etc. 

J. The Left Hand, alone, is inferior, subordinate, 
and occasional; used sometimes for contrasts and 
locations. Should be used sparingly. 

8. Transitions may be made from one gesture to 
another, without return to primary position, but 
always in successive curves. 

The practice of transition is excellent for grace in gesture. 

p. Exact place of Gesture. — "The true time of 
movement is in exact coincidence with emphasis, 



I70 GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 

and falls appropriately on the accented syllable of 
the emphatic word. The voice and the body are 
thus kept in simultaneous action with the mind. 
Movement so performed never obtrudes itself on the 
attention, but becomes a natural part of the whole 
delivery." — Professor Russell. 

The preparatory motion proceeds with the words 
leading up to the emphatic word ; if there are none 
such, as in "Arm! Arm!" the motion begins in a 
pause before the word, but is mostly with the word. 

10. Gestures are further classified as follows : 

A. Designative. — For pointing out, discriminating, 
locating, etc. 

Examples: "Thou art the man!" (index finger). 
"Here was the blood of the patriots shed" (palm 
prone). 

B. Descriptive. — To emphasize general or marked 
aspects of objects, scenes, etc., not literal or panto- 
mimic unless of the dramatic plane. 

Example: "The whole land was overshadowed 
with gloom " (both hands prone). 

C. Significant, — To indicate moods, mental ac- 
tions, etc. ; as, finger on lip (silence), hand to the ear 
(hearkening), arms folded (determination, self-asser- 
tion; favorite attitude of Napoleon I.), arms crossed 
on breast (as in prayer, resignation, penitence, — 



GESTURE: OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 171 

e. g., with "God be merciful to me a sinner" (in 
quoting from the parable of the Publican), gestures 
of the head to express reverence, etc. 

D. Under the last head may be included Figurative 
gestures, or gestures of analogy; as with " Crush 
the enemy ! " ' ' Put down that crime ! " (palm prone). 
The physical motion is analogous to the mental 
action. Both hands extended, prone, are a symbol 
of overshadowing, which, with gentle downward 
motion may figure a blessing ; with forcible down- 
ward motion, a crushing calamity. 

E. Assertive. — Either in the emphatic, oratoric 
plane, or in the unemphatic, conversational plane; 
as with "You cannot conquer America." "He is 
true in every intention ! ' ' Generally with right 
hand prone ; sometimes with both hands. 

77. Gesture and Occasion. — Gesture should be 
regulated by occasion and circumstances — in various 
degrees, from the conversational to the dramatic 
style. Ordinary narrative, description, etc., admit 
of the conversational; argument, appeal, etc., of 
the oratoric; some intense and vivid descriptions, 
and impassioned appeals, of the dramatic. 

But, in the pulpit, all gesture should be moderate 
and should not touch the dramatic degree. Grace- 
ful and dignified action should accompany pure and 



172 GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 

noble tone. Better is it to have little gesture than 
too much. If gestures are used, they should be of 
the attitude, head, face, and hands together, not of 
one kind alone ; especially of the head, if there is an 
inclination to use head for hands. Any constant 
repetition of the same gesture, whatever it may be, 
without others to make variety, either of attitude, 
head, or hands, is a reprehensible mannerism. 

78. Exercises. — These exercises are appended 
merely as suggestions. Each speaker must work 
out his own gestures. 

INDEX TO ABBREVIATIONS 

a. ascending. 1. (final), lateral. 

b. (initial), both. o., oblique. 
b. (final), backward. p., prone. 
b. h., both hands. r., right. 
d., descending. rep., repeat. 

f., front. r. h. (initial), right hand, 

h., horizontal. s., supine, 

ind., index finger. sus., sustain. 

1. (initial), left. upl., uplifted. 

1. h., left hand. v., vertical. 

Conversational Plane: 

"Now, fellow-citizens, in regard to this matter 

r. h. 

about a contract between myself and Judge Trum- 
bull — I wish simply to say, what I have said to him 
before, that he cannot know whether it is true or 

r. h. p. d. 



GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 1 73 
not, and I do knozv that there is not a word of truth 

r.d. r. h. p. 

in it. And I have told him so, before. I don't 
want any harsh language indulged in, but I do know 
how to deal with this persistent insisting on a story 

r. h. d. f. rep. 

that I know to be utterly without truth. It used to 

b. h. h. o. p. 

be the fashion amongst men that when a charge was 
made, some sort of proof was brought forward to 
establish it, and if no proof was found to exist, it 

r. h. d. f. 

was dropped. I don't know how to meet this kind 
of argument. I don't want to have a fight with 
Judge Douglas, and I have no way of making up 
an argument into the consistency of a corn-cob and 
stopping his mouth with it. All I can do is good- 

V. f. 

humoredly to say, that from the beginning to the end 

b. h. o. h. sustained to next gesture 

of all that story about a bargain between Judge 
Trumbull and myself, there is not a word of truth in 

b. h. o. p. d. 

it." — Lincoln. 
Oratoric Plane: 
"From these walls a spirit shall go forth that shall 

r. h. a. o. s. r. h. s. d. o. 

survive, when this edifice shall be like an unsub- 
stantial pageajit faded. It shall go forth, exulting 

r. h. s. d. o. r. h. s. d. o. 

in but not abusing, its strength. It shall go forth, 

r. h. s. d. o. 

remembering, in the days of its prosperity, the 

r. h. s. a. o. 



174 GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 
pledges it gave in the time of its depression. It 

r. h. s. d. o. 

shall go forth, uniting a disposition to correct abuses, 

r. h. s. d. o. r. h. s. d. o. 

to redress grievances. It shall go forth, uniting the 

rep. r. h. s. d. o. 

disposition to improve, with the resolution to main- 
tain and defend, by that spirit of unbought affection 

b. h. s. d. f. 

which is the chief defence of nations." — Everett 

"What was it, fellow-citizens, which gave to 
Lafayette his spotless fame? The love of liberty. 

r. h. s. d. o. 

What has consecrated his memory in the hearts of 
good men? The love of liberty. What nerved his 

r. h. s. d. o. r. h. s. d. o. sus. 

youthful arm with strength, and inspired him, in the 

rep. r. h. s. a. o. 

morning of his days, with sagacity and counsel? 

r. h. s. a. o. rep. 

The living love of liberty. To what did he sacrifice 

rep. rep. rep. 

power, and rank, and country, and freedom itself? 

r. h. s. d. o. rep. rep. rep. 

To the love of liberty protected by law. 

r. h. s. a. o. rep. rep. r. h. s. d. o. 

Listen, Americans, to the lesson which seems borne 
to us on the very air we breathe while we perform 

b. h. s. a. o. 

these dutiful rites. Ye winds, that wafted the pil- 

b. h. s. d. f. b. h. s. a. o. rep. and sus. 

grims to the land of promise, fan in their children's 

r. h.s. d. o. 

hearts the love of freedom I Blood which our fathers 

rep. rep. 

shed, cry from the ground — echoing arches of this re- 

b. h. s. d. f. b. h. s. upl. o. 



GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 175 
nowned hall, zvhisper back the voices of other days — 

rep. rep. backward 

glorious Washington ! break the long silence of that 

r. h. s. a. o., high rep. down 

votive canvas ; speak, speak, marble lips ; teach us the 

r. h. p. a. o. rep. sus. 

love of liberty protected by law! " — Everett. 
Dramatic Plane: 
1 ' To-day I killed a man in the arena ; and when I 

r. h. d. o. 

broke his helmet clasps, behold! he was my friend. 

r. h. h. f. r. h. a. o. upl. r. h. s. d. o. 

He knew me, smiled faintly, gasped, and died — the 

r. h. s. d.o. 

same sweet smile upon his lips that I had marked, 

r. h. h. o. 

when, in adventurous boyhood, we scaled the lofty 

r. h. h. I. 

cliff to pluck the first wild grapes, and bear them 

r. h. s. a. 1. rep. 

home in childish triumph ! I told the praetor that 

r. h. h. 1. r. h. s. a. b. 

the dead man had been my friend, generous and 

r. h. h. 0. rep. 

brave; and I begged that I might bear away the 

rep. r. h. s. h. 1. 

body, to burn it on a funeral pile, and mourn over 

r. h. s. a. 1. r. h. s. d. f. 

its ashes. Ay ! upon my knees, amid the dust and 

b. h. s. d. f. 

blood of the arena, I begged that poor boon, while 

rep. 

all the assembled maids and matrons, and the holy 

b. h. s. h. o. 

virgins they call vestals, and the rabble, shouted in 

rep. b. h. s. d. o. 

derision, deeming it rare sport, forsooth, to see 

b. h. s. h. 1. r.h.s. h. 1. 

Rome's fiercest gladiator turn pale and tremble at 

r. h. ind. h. o. r. h. ind. d. o. sus. 



176 GESTURE; OR, EXPRESSION BY ACTION 

the sight of that piece of bleeding clay ! And the 
praetor drew back as I were pollution, and sternly 

r. h. s. h. 1. r. h. s. d. 1. 

said, 'Let the carrion rot ; there are no noble men 

r. h. p. d. o. b. r. h. s. h. o. 

but Romans ! * And so, fellow -gladiator s y must 

rep. and d. b. h. s. h. o. 

you, and so must /, die like dogs" — From Spartacus 

rep. r. h. s. h. f. rep. d. 1. 

to the Gladiators, Kellogg. 



''Shivering ! Hark! he mutters 

r. h. s. upl. a. o. r. h. s. a. ind. r. h. ind. d. o. 

Brokenly now ; that was a difficult breath ; 

r. h. ind. d. o. 

Another? Wilt thou never come, O Death? 

r. h. s. upl. r. h. s. d. o. 

Look ! how his temple flutters ! 

r. h. ind. d. o. 

Is his heart still? Aha ! lift up his head — 

r. h. s. d. o. r. h. s. upl. r. h. s. d. o. 

He shudders — gasps — Jove help him — so he 's 

r. h. p. d. o. r. h. s. upl. rep. but higher, sus. drop. 

dead!" 

Parrhasius, Willis. 



PART V 

THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 



CHAPTER I 

GENERAL PRINCIPLES 

79. Vocal Expression in the Services. — The vocal 
expression in the Book of Common Prayer should 
involve more than practical skill in the application 
of the principles of elocution, although that should 
be assumed throughout. Nor should the Prayer 
Book be studied by any one according to one kind 
of circumstances, one location or building, only. 
"Being," in familiar phrase, "the common heritage 
of the English-speaking people," its use has become 
so widespread, and it is being adopted, in whole, or 
in part, by so many congregations not of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church, that we want its services 
read in a manner that can be understood by "all 

conditions of men," and that will be edifying and 
12 

177 



1 78 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

acceptable to them. It is this larger view of its value 
in public worship that emphasizes the following ele- 
ments of a proper use of the voice in rendering its 
services, which may be included under two heads : 

/. The Liturgic Spirit. 

2. The Reality of True Expression. 

80. The Liturgic Spirit comes from the psychic 
attitude of the reader and from his purpose in read- 
ing. His attitude must be more than physical (as 
in kneeling, etc.), his purpose deeper than merely to 
repeat, officially, certain exhortations, prayers, etc., 
in due form and clerical manner. For the full spirit 
of liturgical worship includes: 

1. Reverence for God and His truth. This may 
be vividly suggested by an imaginative rendering of 
one of those fervent passages in St. John's Revela- 
tion, with his picture before the mind to inspire the 
vocal expression. It would seem that the assertion 
of this principle of reverence was unnecessary, were 
it not that profound, intelligent, and expressive 
reverence in reading the services is not yet common, 
and that it requires training for its development, 
in most men. Sing-song, monotony, nasal tone, 
etc., are often employed to express reverence, with 
the result that the reading becomes not more solemn, 
but more dreadful. One cannot reach the right 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES 1 79 

attitude of reverence unless his own soul bows down 
to the presence of the Infinite One. Without per- 
sonal prayer in the minister, therefore, his public 
prayer cannot voice the reverence that should be 
felt by all who participate in the service. Real 
prayer, we believe, always reaches the Almighty. 
It may be questioned whether the mere saying 
of prayers can ever "move the arm that moves the 
world." 

2. A profound, not perfunctory, sense of human 
needs, This will induce "Dignity, simplicity, and 
fervor" in the tones of the voice; and we may add 
sympathy, for there are many passages in the Prayer 
Book that call for the sympathetic tone, along with 
other qualities, in order to express the sum of hu- 
man needs. But this expression must spring out of 
the inner feeling — the psychic attitude — or it will be 
false. 

These and other elements of liturgical spirit may not be in 
full, fresh force at every service; but this force arising when it 
is felt to be indispensable should induce the proper delivery at 
some time, and the habitual recollection of that feeling can in- 
duce the proper delivery at all times. 

j. The liturgic spirit calls for a Prepared and Per- 
fected Form of Expression, and is satisfied by the 
forms that have been used for ages. Prescribed 



l8o THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

forms of worship, by their familiarity, demand a per- 
fectly smooth rendering. This should be free from 
all trace of hesitation, such as may be excusable in 
extemporized prayers. 

Considering that the use of the Prayer Book is 
always spreading, it is especially incumbent upon 
those who use it according to their own Church 
order, to manifest its significance and beauty in 
their reading. To this end, the principle noted in 
the next section is vitally important. 

81. The Reality of True Expression. — Reality has 
been defined as "the agreement of our thought with 
what is external to thought." ! Here it may be de- 
fined as the agreement of our vocal expression with 
the impression which we desire to make. This re- 
quires interpretation, as against any mere reciting 
of words. 

When expressions of prayer, once extemporane- 
ous, have been repeated, combined, and finally 
crystallized into a "collect," — which is the history 
of the formation of many parts of our Liturgy, — it 
is the diction that becomes fixed, not the delivery, 
which should be, to the end of time, as true, if not 
as free, in its power of expression, as if the prayer 
was extemporaneous. This principle of delivery, if 

1 Francis H. Johnson, Introduction to What is Reality? 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES l8l 

observed, makes it possible for any one of the con- 
gregation to "read between the lines " his own un- 
spoken additions or modifications. "Common 
Prayer," while expressing the average and general 
needs, should by its manner of expression suggest 
the particular petitions for individual needs. 

Such significant reading does not require slowness 
of delivery, nor extraordinary inflection ; but it does 
forbid the indistinctness of a reverently toned sing- 
song, the unnatural, businesslike rapidity which is 
sometimes heard (but promptness is natural and in- 
dispensable), and the unsympathetic tone of a mere 
official. 

The reality of an oft-repeated Liturgy is secured 
by subtle inflection and intonations which are rarely 
acquired without technical elocutionary study dur- 
ing the preparation for ordination. After such 
training, it should spring spontaneously from spirit- 
ual culture, from sincere reverence, and a lively 
sympathy with humanity. 

This element of reality was once finely suggested 
in the extemporaneous prayer of an eloquent min- 
ister of a non-liturgical communion, in behalf of a 
priest of the Episcopal Church, in these words: 
"As he uses the prayers of the ages, may he have the 
love of the ages in his heart. ' ' 



182 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

82. The Intoned or Choral Service y with which this 
book does not deal directly, as it belongs to the 
musical rendering of the service, may be thought by 
some to be a contradiction to the need of interpre- 
tation through reality of expression. It might be 
that, if all services were intoned. It is, also, beyond 
the ready comprehension of the ignorant and the 
undevout. But to those who have come into pos- 
session of the full meaning of the service, and do 
not need so frequent interpretation, it becomes for 
occasional use in churches, and for regular use in 
colleges and seminaries, the most beautiful, and 
most strictly concerted expression, because it com- 
bines the laws of music with the laws of speech. It 
has the reality of former interpretative readings, and 
adds, if properly rendered, the suggestion of the 
final worship of heaven, the highest form of liturgical 
expression to those who can attain unto it, and who 
do not lose in it the reality of devotion. 

The musical recitation itself is more or less expressive accord- 
ing to the skill of the singer, and is never to be entirely mo- 
notonous or unexpressive, according to the musical rules that 
govern its rendering ; for there may be in its performance, if not 
carefully avoided, the same faults of indistinctness, false tone, 
irreverent rapidity, and lack of sympathy, which can mar the 
service when read. 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES 1 83 

83. General Caution. — Any kind of affectation, 
i.e., tone, etc., adopted for personal exploitation, 
or a mincing tone of pseudo-refinement, is a vio- 
lation of naturalness, simplicity, and reverence. 
Under this head are included sing-song (see §§ 59, 
6j), and what has been called the ministerial 
"tune," an unconscious use of a favorite " melody " 
(see § 66), or of a single exaggerated feature of tone- 
production. 



CHAPTER II 

APPLICATION OF THE LAWS OF ELOCUTION TO THE 
LITURGY 

84. /. Tone~productio7i. — Every variety of tone 
may be employed, except the dramatic or the 
humorous. There is every opportunity for tone- 
color in expressing various degrees of solemnity 
and reverence. No entire service should ever be 
read on one tone. 

2. Enunciation should be perfect, No faulty 
articulations, colloquial elisions, or obscure or pe- 
culiar pronunciations should be permitted. Espe- 
cially should the little words be made distinct, 
though unemphatic. Practice is required before 
they can be so uttered. E. g., in "Let us pray for 
the whole state of Christ's church militant," the 
t in "Christ's" should be perfectly plain. "Ac- 
knowledge," in the exhortation, should not be 
" icknowledge. " "From ' rising o' ' sun to th' go- 
ing down ' ' same," is frequent, but intolerable. 

184 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 185 

It is unnecessary to multiply examples. Study 
of the dictionary and of the rules of articulation, 
with careful training of the ear to demand all 
of every word, are better remedies than quotation 
of errors. 

j. Inflection. — This should be free and true, after 
the method of conversation, but modified in degree. 
Most appropriate in the Liturgy is the falling inflec- 
tion with median stress, expressive of solemnity and 
earnestness, the opposite of the radical stress, which 
is too practical; and of the rising inflection, which is 
too monotonous and indeterminate. 

Examples-. "Here endeth the second lesson," as 
if the words ' ' of the day ' ' were to be immediately 
added, is bad reading. The first opening sentence, 
which should have the median stress on the falling 
inflection in the word "temple," is generally read 
as if so solemn a declaration of the omnipresence of 
God was to be taken for granted and produce no 
special impression. So with others of the opening 
sentences, but not, on the other hand, the misplaced 
use of the radical stress, as in, "O Lord, correct me, 
but with judgment," as one gives a command. 

Another instance of liturgical use is the partial 
inflection, leaving a little more to be done at the 
end, because of the feeling of solemnity and regard 



186 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

for the continuity of the service. This often in- 
volves a lowering of the pitch of the whole word — 
the change in pitch taking the place, in part, of a 
colloquial inflection ; as in "we brought nothing into 
this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing 
out " — the last word being lower in pitch but not 
having complete falling inflection. "Out" would 
be abrupt and harsh. 

Finally, the constant use of the rising inflection 
where conversational reality requires the falling, is 
one most prevalent fault of liturgical reading. The 
omission of the falling inflection is admissible only 
in intoning, — is false in reading. 

4. Pitch. — Every degree but the dramatic may be 
used. As in all other reading, constant, but slight, 
changes are necessary to differentiate the principal 
words and to make the melody of utterance (see 
§ 66). Besides the normal predominant pitch of 
every voice, each reader should have at command a 
somewhat higher tone for intense or continued sup- 
plication, as in the progress of the Litany, — and a 
lower tone for solemn conclusions, for the "Com- 
mittal," etc.; also, in order to differentiate two 
similar passages from each other, as the first and 
second exhortations in the Communion service, "Ye 
who do truly, ' ' etc. , being in a lower tone to make 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 1 87 

a new and general emphasis, and to bring this appeal 
nearer to the hearts of the congregation, as it is 
virtually a repetition of the former one. 

(5) Power. — There is but one rule for this : always 
make the reading heard in all parts of the church, 
not by mere force, but by full breathing, vibrant 
tone, and distinct enunciation. In a building which 
has an echo, it is often necessary to accentuate the 
articulation and to separate the words and syllables 
more than usual, so that no new word shall strike 
the ear until the sound of the preceding one has 
so vanished as not to interfere. For modulated 
power, observe the rule of Vanish of tone (§33). 

(6) Rhythm. — The language of the Bible and of 
the Prayer Book is essentially rhythmical. Apply, 
throughout, the principles set forth in §§ 60-68. 

The rhythm of thought requires a pause, or the 
effect of a pause, between any two successive parts 
of the service, e. g. y between the opening sentence 
and the exhortation. Other applications will be 
made in place. 

One general caution is important : never employ 
drawl instead of emphasis with movement, because 
it breaks up the rhythm. This applies to versicles 
and responses, particularly. 

85. Extemporaneous Prayers. — It is evident that 



1 88 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

there are times when extemporaneous prayers are 
permissible, as at the bedside of the sick or dying, 
or on occasions of great calamity or affliction, which 
demand particular expression, outside of the regular 
services. They may be necessary in any such situa- 
tion, when no forms of prayer are available, either 
in book or memory. They are called for, also, 
on many public occasions, elsewhere than in a 
church. 

To this occasional use the law of reality applies in 
all its force, while the liturgic spirit should not be 
absent. When there is no time for preparation, 
they should be the spontaneous, yet thoughtful, 
outpouring of the heart, regulated by familiarity 
with the "prayers of the ages," and, if occasion 
serves, strengthened by some of their remembered 
petitions. In any case, one should collect his 
thoughts as well as possible, and pray with such 
order as he has at command, at least with attention to 
Invocation, Petition, and concluding Ascription to 
the Trinity, or in the words, "through Jesus Christ 
our Lord." 

One rule should always be observed, which is, 
that prayer should be petition, or the expression of 
communion with the Divine Spirit, not exhortation 
or extended information, i. e., statement of facts 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 1 89 

or circumstances. Both the attitude of prayer on 
the part of all concerned, and the occasion for prayer, 
be it experiences or events, should be generally as- 
sumed as known to all. 

Any attempt at elaboration or eloquence is fatal 
to the true spirit of prayer. Dignity, simplicity, 
sympathy, and fervor are legitimate, but can be the 
result, only, of the previous culture of those quali- 
ties. All of these may be felt in moments of silent 
prayer, as in our ordination services, in mission 
services, and on extraordinary occasions. 

It is well for every student of divinity to prepare 
himself for emergencies by such familiarity with the 
Prayer Book as will enable him to turn, at once, to 
a suitable prayer, in an emergency; such as the 
prayers from "Visitation of the Sick," "The Com- 
mendatory Prayer for a Sick Person at the point of 
departure," "Direct us O Lord," etc. For this 
and similar purposes, such collects as it may be 
convenient to commit to memory will be found ser- 
viceable, because they are instantly ready for use. 

For purely extemporaneous prayer, it is well to 
study such prayers of that character as may be 
found in print; those of Jeremy Taylor scattered 
throughout his published works are recommended ; 
also those of other noted divines, who although they 



I90 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

did not use a liturgy, yet were notably gifted in the 
proper expression of public prayer. 

86. The Propriety of Practising the Services, 
Prayers, etc. 

"It may be thought by some that vocal practice 
upon the Prayer Book is irreverent, and likely to 
produce a mechanical result, as the mind is directed 
to the manner rather than to the spirit of the 
Prayers. 

"It may be replied to this objection that a great 
benefit results from the mental study of the Service. 
There can be nothing irreverent in teaching the 
people, by a skilful use of the voice, the deepened 
sense of the meaning of their forms of worship 
which the minister has gained for himself by study 
and practice. On the contrary, it is a duty. The 
object of practice is to prevent false interpretations 
and false impressions, so that the mind may be kept 
fixed upon the true meaning, and true feeling may 
be suggested and expressed. If the result of prac- 
tice is form, without due expression of the spirit of 
the Service, that practice is wrong. But untutored 
voice and inapt reading sacrifice legitimate and 
reverent effects, which thoughtful and judicious 
study, with practice, may secure. 

"There is nothing more improper in analytic 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY I9I 

study and tentative practice than there is in the 
previous study of the musician for the sake of a true 
and effective expression of music ; or in the rehearsal 
of any of the musical portions of the Service to se- 
cure its suitable and most expressive rendering." — 
(Adapted from Dr. Russell.) 

87. Notes on the Services, with particular appli- 
cations of foregoing principles of elocution and 
expression. 

1. The Opening Sentences. — The opening sentences 
often sound the keynote of the whole service, either 
in a general or a particular way. Most of them are 
general in their effect. Those for the festivals and 
fasts require particular expression. All of them 
should be read after a suitable pause, to separate 
them from the hymn or organ music preceding, and 
to call attention to the service. They should be 
rendered with rather more distinctness, emphasis, 
and dignity than they would require in the midst of 
the passage from which they are taken. Some of 
the shortest require pauses within them (as "He is 
risen," etc.) to properly extend the emphasis, ac- 
cording to the rule of phrasing (under Rhythm). 
The natural inflections and emphases should all be 
observed, and no monotone should prevail in them, 
except in the sentence for Trinity Sunday, which 



192 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

has the tone suggestive of the heavenly anthem : 
every sentence, except that one, should have the 
falling (or partial) inflection, with the median stress, 
on the last accented syllable : 

"The Lord | is in" | his ho | ly tern' | pie: Let all 
I the earth | keep si | lence before | him." 

This sentence should be rhythmical, as marked, 
"in" being very lightly accented, with the falling 
inflection and median stress on "temple" and 
"before," not on "him," which only makes the sen- 
tence grammatically complete and should not be 
accented. The usual way of reading this sentence, 
with no falling inflection on "temple," is indefensi- 
ble. The solemn statement of the omnipresence of 
God is completed in that word. 

The Advent sentence "Repent ye," etc., requires 
a pause to extend the emphasis. 

The Christmas sentence for Morning Prayer re- 
quires median stress and falling inflection on "joy," 
"people," "Saviour," "Lord," and a jubilant tone 
throughout. 

The first Epiphany sentence (a.m.) requires 
median stress with falling inflection on "Gentiles," 
"offering," and "heathen," — the second sentence, 
"Awake," etc., full tone, and, in the repeated 
words, pauses and marked rhythm. 






ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 193 

The Good Friday sentence (a.m.) should be read 
in a clear, light, sympathetic tone, with power much 
subdued, almost sotto voce. Any force or harsh- 
ness, here, is offensive. 

The Easter sentences are joyful and triumphant. 
The first has pause after /'risen," for extended 
emphasis. 

The Ascension Day sentences are firmly joyful, 
but also didactic. 

The first Whitsunday sentence (a.m.) requires a 
pause after "Abba," as "Father" is the interpre- 
tative word in apposition. The p.m. sentence should 
have the word "Come " said with strong emphasis, 
falling inflection, and sympathetic tone. 

The sentence for Trinity Sunday should be read 
in a monotone with pitch gradually falling toward 
the end. This change of pitch is natural and pre- 
vents monotony, the false substitute for monotone 
(see § 51). The Trisagion should have strong, slow 
rhythm and lengthened quantity. The musical ele- 
ment is essential in this and several others of the 
festival sentences. 

The sentences in both Morning and Evening 
Prayer (excepting the first) which are printed be- 
fore the Advent sentence, are of quiet, devotional 

tone, and call for a clear rather than a full utterance, 
13 



194 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

as they suggest the serenity of feeling which is 
proper to an hour of devotion. 

The remaining "penitential" sentences are all of 
the same class, and should be read with lower pitch 
and quieter tone than those for special days, but 
with complete inflection. 

The sentences for Thanksgiving Day partake of 
the festival spirit ; but some of them express, espe- 
cially, ideas of reverence and obedience. In particu- 
lar, "The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath 
are the everlasting arms," has the pathos of pro- 
found trust, which the voice should express by mel- 
low, sympathetic tone. 

Finally, in regard to this part of the service, it is 
well to study each sentence thoroughly, by itself, 
so as to bring out its full meaning when in its 
liturgical position. 

2. The Exhortations. — These are: (i) In Morning 
and Evening Prayer. (2) In the Holy Communion. 
(3) In the Baptismal Office. (4) In the Solemnization 
of Matrimony. (5) In the Order for the Visita- 
tion of the Sick. (6) In the Form of Prayer for the 
Visitation of Prisoners. 

Reality of expression is most important in all of 
the exhortations, but should not be carried so far 
into familiarity as to destroy the impression of an 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY I95 

exhortation pronounced in the name of the Church. 
A due sense of the order of the Church prevents 
colloquialism, while it does not necessarily involve 
the tone of authority. The proper tone, following 
the proper feeling, is the persuasive, or gently 
hortatory. 

Some points in the exhortations require special 
attention. Omitting (5) and (6) in the list, as sug- 
gestions, rather than forms in common use, we will 
examine the others in the order of their importance 
and difficulties, beginning with the simplest, which 
are those of the Baptismal Office. These should be 
characterized by the strongest pastoral feeling, which 
admits more of the personality in the reading than 
other exhortations. Yet the idea and influence of 
the sacrament must not be obscured by any per- 
sonality or any feeling of a festive christening. 

In the exhortation of the Marriage Service, on 
account of the presumed joyousness of the occasion, 
especially in a public wedding, a cordial tone (but 
not a light one) is appropriate at the beginning, 
proceeding to due solemnity at " reverently , dis- 
creetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God," 
which words should be said with deliberate em- 
phasis, coming to a lower and more impressive 
tone on "the fear of God." In general, the grave- 



196 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

sympathetic tone is most suitable throughout this 
service. Wholly grave should be "I require and 
charge you both," etc., which is said in a very low 
tone, as it is particularly for the "Man" and the 
"Woman." 

The exhortation for Morning and Evening Prayer, 
although less simple than the preceding, is char- 
acterized by a greater simplicity of delivery than 
the preceding sentences. Their reverential fervor 
is changed into the pastoral-hortatory feeling, which 
is essential in the address to the people, as distin- 
guished from the Sacred Word. The earnestness 
and directness of the expression, which is partly 
personal in character, should be evident, as though 
the reader were actually exhorting and instructing 
the people to confess their sins especially at that 
time, and to engage in the other parts of the service ; 
but the impression of personality should not be made 
too strong, because the reader is not the originator 
of the language, which is the voice of the Church. 

Special suggestions : 

a. Read the phrase of address, "Dearly beloved 
brethren," with calm but earnest expression of pas- 
toral interest, low tone, no falling inflection on 
brethren — which would be too formal, — and with 
slight pause after it. 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY I97 

b. Read the statement from "The Scripture 
moveth us " through "when we assemble and meet 
together" with slight emphasis on "Scripture," 
and on the other principal words, falling inflection 
on "wickedness," "heart," and "mercy " and pause 
after "together" for the purpose of grouping the 
parts of the succeeding passage. 

c. Read the enumeration of the different parts of 
divine worship from "to render" through "soul" 
as a series, with falling inflection only on "soul," 
which also has the median stress, and with distinc- 
tive emphasis on each of the four parts. 

d. Read the bidding "Wherefore," etc., to the 
end, in a more subdued voice but with increased 
earnestness, especially on "Unto the throne of the 
heavenly grace" — with the word "saying" subdued 
and with a pause after it. This word should be 
uttered before kneeling, as all words of saying be- 
long to what precedes and not to what is said. 

The exhortations in the Holy Communion have 
the same general characteristics of pastoral manner, 
etc., as the former, but have deepened solemnity 
and lighter tone because of the natural quiet of the 
smaller congregation. As the first one is used but 
once a month, it should be read with special im- 
pressiveness on that account. When this is used, 



I98 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

the second exhortation, which is practically a brief 
summary of the first, should be read in a deeper 
and more fervid manner. 

Some particulars of effective reading are : 
Be sure that the church is silent before beginning, 
after non -communicants have withdrawn. Pause 
after "Dearly beloved in the Lord," as the people 
rise at those words. Use real emphasis throughout, 
as fervid solemnity should not die away in monotony, 
e. g. y on "examine," "benefit," and "danger" (an- 
tithesis), "so" and "holy mysteries" (subdued and 
deepened tone), "miserable sinners" and "children 
of God" (antithesis), "everlasting life," etc., with 
all the principal words. Pause after ' ' God, ' ' before 
"the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost," which 
are in explanatory apposition with the first Name. 
Pause, as if there were paragraphs, after "those 
holy mysteries," "exalt us to everlasting life," and 
"endless comfort." Make careful distinction be- 
tween "wholly " and "holy " by pronouncing both 
l's in "wholly " and giving a fuller sound to o in 
"holy." Phrase the second exhortation, distinctly, 
as punctuated. 

j. The Concerted Portions of the Services. — These 
are, chiefly, the Confessions, the Lord's Prayer, 
and the Creeds, with the Gloria in Excelsis when 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 199 

read. Several general principles apply in all of 
them: 

a. The minister should positively lead the people, 
making use, for this purpose, of full (or sufficient) 
power, marked accentuation and rhythm, and pauses 
before the capitals, to distinguish the phrases or 
articles, so that all may keep together. It is a vio- 
lation of the "liturgic spirit " for the congregation, 
or any member of it, to read otherwise. "After the 
minister" may have been construed literally when 
the people had no prayer books, but should not be 
so observed at the present day. 

b. The tone should be full and strong, in the 
middle pitch ; but the degrees of inflection and em- 
phasis should be less than in individual utterance, a 
sacrifice for unison effect. 

In the Confessions, the special method to be ob- 
served is the use of such a quality of voice as is 
sufficiently distinct to lead, and, at the same time, 
to express humility, especially in the Holy Com- 
munion. For this and similar necessities, although 
no elocutionary artifice is tolerable during the ren- 
dering of the service, there should have been pre- 
viously acquired a thorough command of tone-color, 
so that it will instinctively follow and express the 
proper feeling. In the confession of Morning 



200 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

Prayer, make a slight pause after ''according to thy 
promises " for proper phrasing. 

In the Lord's Prayer there should always be 
moderate power and clear tone, varying to quieter 
utterance with small congregations and on special 
occasions. It should be said more deliberately than 
is customary, because it is the general and model 
prayer given by our Lord. 

The Creeds should be recited with power propor- 
tioned to the size of the congregation, louder than 
the Confession or Lord's Prayer. The tone of con- 
fident conviction requires special emphasis and ac- 
centuation. Do not drawl "I believe," but mark 
the proper movement in those words. Observe in 
the Nicene Creed the peculiar emphasis required in 
"God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very 
God." Say "begotten," not "begutten." 

The Gloria in Excelsis should begin and end with 
full jubilant tone. 

4. The Absolution should be said with the tone of 
official under Divine authority — a different tone 
from that of command. The threefold division of 
the first Absolution should be indicated : a. Declara- 
tion of Divine authority, through "sins"; b. Decla- 
ration of Divine mercy, through "gospel"; c. 
Exhortation to pray. This division requires a 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 201 

mellowing of the voice as the reading of the Ab- 
solution proceeds. Notice in the second Absolu- 
tion that the division is twofold, — declaration of 
Divine mercy, through "him"; and the prayer, 
which requires pauses to give dignity to its short 
sentences. 

5. The Ver sides. — These should be said promptly 
and rhythmically, without a trace of drawl, and the 
natural inflection should be employed, with partial 
fall at the end, to anticipate the responses. 

6. The Antiphonal Portions, including the Psalter, 
and the Canticles when there is no music. Not 
much expression, save distinctness and unison, can 
be expected of the congregation, in reading these 
portions; but the minister can add much to the 
reality of the service, here, by the avoidance of 
monotony, varying his verses according to the 
thought contained. A good rule for the antiphonal 
junction is for each part to begin at once when the 
last accented syllable of the preceding verse is heard, 
as, "but the righteous is merciful and liberal. 

Such as are 
blessed of God shall possess the land." 
"They shall have enough. 

As for the ungodly," etc. In 
effect, the first word of a new verse will be found to 



202 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

strike the ear just about as the sound of the preced- 
ing (last) word has so vanished as not to interfere 
with the new word. The minister, in taking up his 
verse after the congregational reading, may do well 
to have a keen ear for the particular instant when 
the majority of voices have vanished, and not to 
wait for the unrhythmical laggards. This method 
can gradually train a congregation to promptness. 

Pauses between antiphonal verses in the Psalter 
are intolerable, because they cannot be bounded well 
or measured and therefore inevitably tend to grow 
longer and longer. 

7. The Canticles, on the part of the minister, 
should suggest, to a degree, the musical effect with 
which they are generally associated, and this can be 
done only by the singing tone. 

The Te Deum and the Gloria in Excelsis demand 
the greatest dignity and solemnity in the delivery, 
because they are the supreme hymns of the services. 
Both should be read in a monotone with very little 
falling inflection, even at the ends of the verses, 
none by the minister except at the end of the last 
verse, and there let the lowered pitch of the last 
word be more evident than a fall of pitch in the 
word. Let the Te Deum be recited in the lower 
middle pitch, the Gloria in Excelsis in a slightly 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 203 

higher pitch. The fullest, noblest tones of which 
the voice is capable are suitable for these Canticles 
as well as for the Benedicite, of which little needs to 
be said, because of its scarcely varying regularity. 

A feature of the Te Deum is the change from full 
doxology at the beginning to a calm declaration of 
faith, including most of the significance of the 
Apostles' Creed in the passage from "The holy 
church throughout all the world" through "We 
believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge." 
Then it proceeds to intercession and supplication 
from "Judge " to the end. This structure calls for 
a corresponding change in the voice, but the fully 
sustained solemnity prevents any loss of liturgical 
power. 

In the Gloria in Excelsis we find, also, three 
divisions: 1st, the Doxology; 2d, the Intercession; 
3d, the Ascription. The voice, like the music, 
should follow these changes. 

88. The Prayers. — 1. The tone of supplication 
should always be clear and fervid. The pitch 
should be low at the beginning and rise a little in 
passages of increased or cumulative fervor. Any 
flaw in enunciation is inexcusable. The inflection 
should be natural. Sing-song should be entirely 
eliminated. The falling inflection should be given 



204 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

in places where it is required by the conclusion of 
the sense, — e. g. y "righteous in thy sighf" (Collect 
for Grace, A.M.), — "way*" (Prayer for the President, 
etc.), — "blessing" (Prayer for Clergy and People), 
— "nation," "church universal,' ' "righteousness of 
life," and "afflictions" (Prayer for All Conditions of 
Men), — "All men " and "hope of glory " (General 
Thanksgiving), — "life everlasting" (Prayer of St. 
Chrysostom). In Evening Prayer: "quietness" 
(Collect for Peace), — "night" (Aid against Perils), 
— "glory" and "ordinance" (Prayer for those in 
Authority). 

2. The Liturgical Divisions should be observed in 
the use of the voice. These are : a. The Invocation. 
b. The Petition, c. The Conclusion — this including 
the Mediation and Ascription. These should be 
separated by rhythmical pauses and distinguished, 
generally, by slight change in pitch — both of which 
are natural means of analytic expression. 

The Invocation requires deliberation and the low 
pitch of reverence. The sacred Name should always 
be followed by pause, never run into the general 
movement of the prayer. 

Note always that " deliberation" and " pause," in respect to 
prayers, are relative and rhythmical terms. They do not imply 
actual slowness. 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 205 

The Petition should take the slightly higher pitch 
of pleading. 

The Conclusion should be separated from the 
Petition by pause, not only for reverence, but also 
to make it refer, as it almost always does, to the en- 
tire Petition and not to its last clause or phrase only. 

In both Invocation and Conclusion, the principle 
of Reality should prevail (§ 81). They should not 
be perfunctory in expression, nor blended, except 
by sequence, with other parts of the prayer. In 
"Lighten our darkness," etc., the petition comes 
first and should be duly emphasized. 

3. Faults to be avoided. — Beware of the tone of 
command in the Invocation — springing from over- 
consciousness of official function, which may be 
stamped as officiousness, because the prayers are for 
minister and people together. Avoid indistinctness 
or lack of dignity in the utterance of the name 
" Jesus -.' "' (See §47.) Beware, also, of drawling 
the sacred Names, e. g., saying " A-1-l-mighty." 
Lengthened quantity should be continued and 
rhythmical, if used at all. Avoid emphasis on the 
personal pronouns, except in the few cases in which 
one person is actually contrasted with another; e.g., 
>l tky servants," "thy honour and glory," in the 
Prayer for the President, are wrong. So, also, with 



206 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

regard to undue accent — the quiet swell or openness 
of the tone, making emphasis, is better. 

</. Rhythm. — Observe, carefully, the rhythm of 
the prayers. It induces smoothness of delivery. 
Phrasing is most important, in many instances, to the 
expression of the meaning. Instances, often over- 
looked, are: " thine inestimable love | in the re- 
demption," etc. (Gen. Thanksgiving), — "who hast 
given us grace | at this time," etc. (Prayer of 
St. Chrysostom), — "whose property is | always 
to have mercy," etc. (Prayer of Humble Access). 
In "A Prayer for the President," etc. (a.m.) the 
phrasing is important in "with thy favour to be- 
hold and bless thy servant the President of the 
United States." Many pause after "servant," 
but that obviously suggests the wrong meaning. 
Others pause after "bless," but that makes a 
separation between the verb and its object, which 
should be avoided, if possible. Others pause after 
"favour," and say the remainder without break. 
It is here recommended, after careful considera- 
tion of the reasons given for other readings, to 
pause after "thee," and then read from "with" to 
' ' States " without any pause whatever, making the 
rhythmical emphasis to take the place of pauses, and 
saying that passage on one breath, as follows: "We 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 207 

beseech thee | with thy favour to behold and bless 
thy servant the President of the United States, \ and 
all others in authority " ; on the same plan, it is well 
to read in the corresponding prayer for the evening, 
1 ' and so rule the hearts of thy servants the President 
of the United States" on one breath. 

5. In the special Prayers and Thanksgivings, and 
in the Collects for the Christian Year, it is well to em- 
phasize especially the particular topic of the prayer. 
If there should be any doubt whether one or more 
persons are to be prayed for, where an alternative is 
indicated, use the plural instead of "him," etc. 

The "Grace of our Lord" should be said with 
special impressiveness in every part, as concluding 
the Service. 

89. The Litany. — 1. "In the dignity of its sub- 
limity, the depth of its solemnity, the tenderness of 
its pathos, the anguish of its contrition, the intense 
fervor of its reverence, this is one of the most diffi- 
cult of the Services to render expressively, charac- 
teristically, and reverently. Read without emotion, 
it is a most tedious Service. Read with manifestly 
assumed expression, the artificiality is most painful 
and shocking. But, read with propriety, it is a 
most heart-searching and comforting Service." — 
Dr. Russell. 



208 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

The management of the voice, in this Service, is 
most important. It should be especially clear and 
musical, never forceful. Low pitch should be em- 
ployed at the beginning, in the " Obsecrations," 
especially in "By thine agony," etc., and in the 
short petitions at the end, "Son of God," etc., to 
express reverential awe and the humblest petition. 
The pitch should rise in the progress of the fervent 
petitions, from these passages. But the Litany 
should not be all read in a high sing-song, as has 
been so frequently heard. Intensity of tone is ap- 
propriate throughout. 

2, The Liturgical Divisions, as they have been 
classified by the standard writers, are of themselves 
suggestive of natural changes in expression. These 
are, first, the Invocations, from the opening to "Re- 
member not, ' ' etc. ; secondly, the Deprecations, to 
"By the mystery," etc.; thirdly, the Obsecrations, 
from here to "We sinners do beseech thee," etc.; 
fourthly, the Intercessions, from ' ' We sinners, ' ' etc. , 
to "That it may please thee to give and preserve to 
our use," etc.; fifthly, the Supplications, from this 
point to the close. 

Note. — Both at the beginning of the Litany in the Invo- 
cation, and in " O Christ hear us," etc., before the Lord's 
Prayer, the responses or repetitions should be said by the con- 
gregation, as they are printed, after the words of the minister. 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 209 

j. The Invocations. — Avoid the long-mooted ques- 
tion of a pause between "Father" and "of heaven" 
— which is correct in a way (as the old Latin form is 
de ccelis and not ccelorum) and yet is an interruption 
— by using a little added emphasis, as "O God, the 
Father of heaven ." So in "Redeemer of the world," 
and in some similar cases, elsewhere in the Services. 
Such emphasis effects sufficient phrasing without 
disturbing the flow of the petition. (See § 64.) 

Make no attempt at discrimination of reverence 
felt toward the different persons of the Trinity. 
As finite beings, we are too far from the infinities to 
estimate their quantities or values in our thought or 
feeling. (See the collect for Trinity Sunday.) 

In the petition, let the emphasis be as follows: 
"Have mercy upo rv n us, miserable sinners," the 
natural, rhythmical expression; a distinct enuncia- 
tion of "us," with secondary accent, is sufficient. 
Much emphasis upon "us " gives the impression of 
individual or corporate egotism. So, farther on, 
with undue emphasis on " We beseech thee," etc. 
The number of persons prayed for in the Litany is 
not necessarily limited to those who are present to 
pray. 

Be careful in the reading of the Invocations that 
one utterance does not lap over the other (as in the 



2IO THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

Psalter). The word "sinners" should be finished 
before the next is heard. 

4.. The Deprecations. — No emphasis should be 
thrown upon "our" before " offences " or "fore- 
fathers," nor upon "thy" before "people," "wrath," 
"Word and Commandment." "Our " and "thy " 
are used only to make the form personal. "Thy 
most precious blood " may have special emphasis. 
Never betray haste in saying "from envy, hatred, 
and malice, and all uncharitableness," nor in the 
two following petitions. This fault is often con- 
nected with a series ; but the movement should be 
even, as every word is of equal importance in the 
purpose of the prayer. Pronounce the initial word 
"From" with careful distinctness, but no special em- 
phasis, to indicate the relation between the petition 
and the response. The same is true of "By " in the 
Obsecrations. 

5. The Obsecrations. — The deep solemnity of these 
appeals to the mediatorial work of Our Lord should 
subdue the voice to a grave and reverent tone. In 
the second, give separate emphasis to each capital- 
ized word, and brighten the voice in "glorious Resur- 
rection and Ascension. 

6. The hit er cessions. — The slide of falling inflection 
is suspended at the end of each one, so as to lead up 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 211 

to the response, which, after "That it may please 
thee," is necessary to conclude the meaning. Em- 
phasize "all" after "bless and keep." Emphasize 
" all " and ' ' nations ' ' equally. Pronounce ' ' erred ' ' 
in one syllable. Emphasize "do," a little, in "do 
stand. " In " finally to beat down Satan, ' ' the word 
"finally" should have no pause after it, as if equiva- 
lent to " lastly " ; it modifies the verb "to beat." A 
short pause after "travel" is well to avoid the im- 
pression that only those who travel in certain ways 
are prayed for. Emphasize thus, "All men," in 
concluding the Intercessions. 

7. The Supplications. — ' ' Kindly " needs no soften- 
ing of the voice to indicate kindly feeling. It means 
fruits of the earth "after their kind." Read the 
second supplication slowly enough to ensure the ac- 
curate articulation of "negligences and ignorances." 
In reading the short petitions there should be an in- 
crease of fervor, and a gradual lowering of the pitch, 
suitable to the conclusion of this part of the Litany. 
"O Lamb of God," etc., should be lower and slower 
in the repetition than in the first reading. There 
should be a pause before the "Lesser Litany " when 
that follows. 

"O Christ, hear us," etc., should be said with great 
fervor. After the people say the last "Have mercy 



212 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

upon us," let the minister leave slight pause so that 
they may have breath to begin the Lord's Prayer 
"with him." 

90. The Holy Communion. — /. If the reader were 
to be trained for this Service alone, it might occupy 
many hours of most diligent study and practice be- 
fore he could do justice to the most sacred and 
reverent of all Services. But, with the general 
preparation in the use of the voice, already indi- 
cated, it is sufficient to note the special applications, 
here, of the principles of official and reverent ex- 
pression. The Epistles and Gospels are omitted, 
because discussed under the head of '* Reading the 
Holy Scriptures." 

2. The Decalogue should be read with the dignity 
and authority appropriate to the utterance of the 
Commandments of God. Such authority, as dis- 
tinguished from that which is human, is marked by 
a moderated tone, which leaves out everything like 
the stroke on the ear of a military order. 

"The two extremes of a faulty reading are: (1) 
The feeble effect of a petition, or a pathetic request 
that these laws should be observed, setting the 
words to a minor tune, and imparting the sound of 
complaint, in place of command. (The rising in- 
flection often causes this effect.) (2) The pompous 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 213 

authority which gives a personal effect, as though 
the reader himself had enacted these laws, and was 
personally requiring obedience to them. Besides 
these there are many other errors, such as undue 
rapidity, suppression of the power, too high a key, 
pauses too long or short, etc. The utterance should 
be deliberately and expressively emphatic, so as to 
leave no room in the mind of the hearer for misin- 
terpretation or doubt as to the meaning and appli- 
cation of the commandments. . . . The reading 
should be expressive of the Law, from which there 
is no appeal, — mandatory and absolute, — not a 
narrative, not the feeble expression of a desire, 
but the firm utterance of unyielding and inexorable 
law — 'Thou shalt,' and 'Thou shalt not.'" — Dr. 
Russell. 

The positive falling inflection should be used 
throughout. The tone should be grave-orotund. 

In the first commandment, give great positiveness 
and exact utterance to the first word, "God." 

In the second commandment emphasize "thou- 
sands," "hate," and "love." In this and other 
commandments emphasize both "shalt" and "not" 
"Shalt" marks the emphatic conjugation. (See 
Distributed Emphasis, § 58.) 

In the third commandment, have falling inflection 



214 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

on "vain" (radical stress), and median stress on 
"guiltless." 

In the fourth commandment, note that "Re- 
member" to "Sabbath-day" is the law, and the re- 
mainder is application and comment. Read "thy 
son and thy daughter," "thy man-servant and thy 
maid-servant," -as pairs of words. 

In the following commandments emphasize 
"Honour," "murder," "adultery," "steal," "false 
witness," and "covet." 

In the fifth, pause after "mother," lest the motive 
of filial obedience should seem to be only desire for 
the inheritance. 

In the "Summary," use marked pause with de- 
liberation. Emphasize "love" especially. 

j. The Offertory sentences follow the rules of all 
Scripture reading, with the added emphasis of a de- 
tached and special use. 

4. The prayer for the "whole state of Christ's 
Church militant" is especially rich in meaning and 
expression, and demands a full, sonorous voice to 
the words "And we humbly beseech thee," which 
should be read with full, sympathetic tone, deepened 
on occasion. The special pause after "departed this 
life in thy faith and fear " is appropriate, especially 
on All Saints' Day, but should not be painfully long. 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 21 5 

Be sure to pronounce every letter in "Christ's" 
in the Bidding. 

[For the Exhortation, see § 87, 2.] 

5. The Comfortable Words should be said with 
tender reverence and natural inflection, as the living 
utterances of those who spake as man to man, even 
Christ the God-man. Use the falling and not the 
rising inflection at the end of every one. Read 
them rhythmically, also. Pronounce "propitia- 
tion" "pro/w^iation." Do not accent "for" after 
"propitiation." 

6. The Sursum Corda should be said with an up- 
lifting of the voice, passing into subdued reverence 
at the words, "It is very meet and right, and our 
bounden duty," etc., with marked emphasis, as in 
special prayers, on the Proper Prefaces. 

7. The Ter Sanctus when read, should have the 
monotone, fulness, and dignity of the Te Deum and 
similar passages. 

8. In the Prayer of Humble Access, and still m6re 
in the Prayer of Consecration, a. well -trained voice, 
without artificiality, but with the most natural feel- 
ing, will be subdued to a tone which is clear, dis- 
tinct, and deeply reverent, of sufficient power to be 
heard by the communicants, but with no careless 
use of depth or power, or any impression of force or 



2l6 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

effort. Practice of the tone explained in §§ 31, 3, and 
Ex. 4 will be helpful. A middle pitch is most suit- 
able to this prayer, by a sort of economy of power 
fitted to the most refined reverence. The mono- 
tone ("reflective ") should be used throughout, but 
with delicate suggestions of real inflection. The 
point of deepest solemnity is at the words, "Do this 
in remembrance of me. ' ' 

The remainder of this portion of the Service, 
"The Oblation," and "The Invocation," should be 
read with gradual change from the deepest solemnity 
to the joyful Ascription, "By whom and with whom, 
in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory 
be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without 
end." 

p. The Words of Administration should be said in 
a low voice, but not with whisper, with absolute 
distinctness, and slowly enough to continue while 
four persons are receiving — under ordinary circum- 
stances. There should be a slight pause before 
"Take, eat," and "Drink this." 

10. The prayers of the Post -communion require no 
special attention after the foregoing applications of 
the spirit of this Service. There is here, however, 
as in other places, an opportunity to express the 
feeling of completion, by dwelling a little on certain 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 21J 

concluding words, as, "And we most humbly beseech 
thee, O heavenly Father, so to assist us with thy grace, 
that we may continue" etc. 

{The Gloria in Excelsis has been noticed else- 
where.] 

ii. The Blessing should not be said until all are 
still, and then with marked deliberation, emphasis, 
and dignity, tempered by the sympathetic pastoral 
feeling and mellow tone. 

91, The Burial Service. — /. This is the one Ser- 
vice, above all others, which, out of the Church or 
within it, is acknowledged to be as nearly perfect as 
any humanly ordered Service can be. 1 This results 
from the use of the Bible, from which almost every 
word of it is taken, except the prayers. The read- 
ing, therefore, should be with the laudable purpose 
of not only making it appropriate, by avoidance of 
defects, but also of interpreting it with the most 
impressive effect. 

The characteristic feeling pervading every portion 
of it is solemnity, but a hopeful and not a gloomy 
solemnity. This feeling is accompanied by the 
tenderest sympathy for the bereaved, and the kindly 

1 With the exception, perhaps, of the second clause of the second 
opening sentence and the passage in the Lesson concerning baptism 
for the dead, which are not understood by many. 



2l8 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

prompting of the heart which yearns to give the 
"oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for 
the spirit of heaviness." A single tone of the voice 
out of keeping with these characteristics of the Ser- 
vice, is like the utterance of a thoughtless word, or 
the doing of some incongruous act, which reveals a 
heart out of sympathy with the occasion ; and there 
is no other Service where, as in this, the voice of 
the pastor may be made to convince his people that 
he, with St. Paul, has them in his heart. — (Adapted 
from Dr. Russell.) 

2. This Service, also, in a fully expressive render- 
ing, especially before a large congregation, has a 
decidedly musical element, which should not be dis- 
regarded, as it is caused by the sonorous rhythm of 
its language, especially in the lofty diction of the 
Lesson, and the change of key, so to speak, accord- 
ing to the sentiment, corresponding to the major 
and minor in music ; all changes being subordinate 
to the predominant motive, which is to set forth the 
comfort and triumph of a Christian hope in the 
resurrection and the future life for those who "die 
in the Lord." The major, the hopeful, key, is 
sounded in the first of the opening sentences, con- 
tinued in the second, resumed in the Lesson, where 
the theme proceeds by remarkable logic and elo- 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 2IO, 

quence to a noble climax in "But thanks be to 
God which giveth us the victory through our Lord 
Jesus Christ "; is resumed again in the midst of the 
Committal, in the words, "Looking for the general 
resurrection," etc., and again in the concluding 
prayers. 

Contrasted with this predominant tone of hope 
and faith, according to the law of the discipline of 
life through sorrow and death, are the other pas- 
sages, in the minor key, some of which touch the 
lowest depth of solemn awe. This is seen, first, in 
the Psalms, and, secondly, in the portion from 
"Man that is born," etc., through "dust to dust." 
It will be seen that the larger part of the Service is 
in the major key. 

This musical idea is due to the authors of most of 
the language of the Service, St. Paul, the Psalmist, 
and the writer of the book of Job, whose poetic 
genius expressed the profoundest depths of feeling 
in style that readily lends itself, at least, to the sug- 
gestion of musical form. The Service should not be 
read for the musical effect, particularly, but the 
musical feeling should be admitted, as it is in the 
Psalms and the Prophets, for the sake of bringing 
out the sentiment of the Service. Reference to 
Blunt's Annotated Prayer Book will show that the 



220 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

sentences and the anthem were at first selected to 
be sung. 

j. Some details of the proper rendering of this 
Service are added : 

The first sentence sounds the keynote oi'/aith in 
immortality, on the authority of Him who raised 
Lazarus from the dead and "rose again," Himself. 
It should not be pronounced in a low tone, but in 
one that rings (though reverently) through the 
building, be it church or house. 

The second sentence is similar, with less of au- 
thority, — an expression of hope} The third sentence, 
expressing consolation and resignation, demands the 
sympathetic quality, increasing in the second part. 
It furnishes a modulation in tone from the confident 
to the solemn, from the major to the minor. 

The Psalms should be read with more deliberate 
emphasis than when they occur in the Psalter — and 
in the grave tone. Again, the Gloria Patri makes 
the modulation from the grave to the hopeful. 

^. The Lesson is so unique, being the only in- 
spired statement of the doctrine of the Resurrection 
of length that was ever given, and is so majestic in 
its thought and diction, that it is given here with 
marks of expression. These are intended to be sug- 

1 Make rhythmic pause after " skin" to prevent absurdity. 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 221 

gestive of proper rendering (admitting the differences 
of individual interpretation) rather than exact direc- 
tions. The paragraphing, according to the Revised 
Version, indicates the stages of the argument. The 
italics and capitals indicate the two degrees of empha- 
sis ; the lines | and || the pauses, || the longer pause, 
and the usual signs the rising or falling inflection. 

" NOW is Christ risen from the dead', and become 
the first- fruits of them that slept. For since by 
man 1 came death, 1 by man 1 came also the resurrec- 
tion xl of the dead\ For | as in Adam' 1 all die' 1 even 
so in Christ' 1 shall all be made alive". 1 But every 
man in his own order": Christ the first-fruits' ; after- 
ward they that are Christ's 3 , at his coming. Then 
cometh the end' y when he shall have delivered up 
the kingdom to God', even the Father"; when he 
shall have put down all rule'* and all authority and 
power x . For he must reign*, till he hath put all' 
enemies under his feet\ The last enemy that shall 
be destroyed is death\ For he hath put all things 3 
under his feet\ But when he saith, | all things are 
put under him, | it is manifest that he is excepted^, 
which did put all things under him\ And when all 
things shall be subdued unto him, | then shall the 

1 Antithesis. 2 Distributed emphasis. 



222 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

Son also himself s ' be subject unto him that put all 
things under him, that GOD may be ALL in ALL. | 

"Else what shall they do which are baptized for 
the dead, if the dead rise not at alP? Why are they 
then baptized for the dead'? and why stand we in 
jeopardy every hour'? I protest by your rejoicing, 
| which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord? \ I die 
dailf. If after the manner of men | I have fought 
with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me 3 | if 
the dead rise not 3 (?) let us eat and drink | for to- 
morrow we die x . || Be not deceived : evil communica- 
tions corrupt good manners'. A wake to righteousness , 
and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of 
God. I speak this to your shame x . 

"But some man will say, How are the dead raised 
up'? and with what body do they comeV Thou 
fool 4 | that which thou sowest is not quickened, ex- 
cept it die. 6 And that which thou sowest, thou 
sowest not that body that shall be? but bare grain\ 
it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain'. 6 | 
But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and 

1 Distributed emphasis. 

2 Pause and falling inflection. The question ends here in the 
Greek and the R. V. 

3 No interrogation here. 

4 " Thou fool " unemphatic and with suspended slide. 

5 At " die," suspended slide. 

6 " It may chance of wheat, or of some other grain " — unemphatic. 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 223 

to every seed his own body\ All flesh is not the 
same flesh' ; but there is one kind of flesh of meri ', — 
another flesh of beasts 1 ', | another of fish'es, | and 
another of birds'". | There are also celestial' bodies, 
and bodies terres"trial; | but the glory of the celes- 
tial is one' , and the glory of the terrestrial is another", 
I There is one glory of the sun' y and another glory 
of the moon' , and another glory of the stars'; | for 
one star differeth from another star in glory'. || So 
also is the resurrection' of the dead\ || It is 
sown in corruption; it is raised in INCORRUPTION" : 
it is sown is dishonour' ; it is raised in GLORY v : it is 
sown in weakness' ; it is raised in POWER^ : it is sown 
a natural body' ; it is raised a SPIRITUAL BODY\ 
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual 
body\ I And so it is written, | The first man Adam* 
was made a living souP; the last Adam 2 was made a 
quickening spirit. Howbeit, | that was not first' 
which is spiritual' , but that which is natural^; and 
afterward that which is spiritual^. The first man 
is of the earth, earthy": the second man is the Lord 
from heaven\ I As is the earthy, such are they also 
that are earthy"*: and as is the heavenly ', such are 

1 These antitheses require change to higher pitch and stronger 
emphasis on the second word. 

2 Distributed emphasis. 



224 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

they also that are heavenly". \ And as we have borne 
the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image 
of the heavenly". 

"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh' and blood 
cannot inherit the kingdom of God*; neither doth 
corruption inherit incorruption . Behold, I show you 
a mystery"; | We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be 
changed*, | *in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 
at the last trump: FOR' THE TRUMPET SHALL 
SOUND, AND THE DEAD SHALL BE RAISED INCOR- 
RUPTIBLE, AND WE SHALL BE CHANGED. s For this 
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal 
must put on immortality. || So when this corrupti- 
ble shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal 
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought 
to pass the saying that is written, Death is swal- 
lowed UP in VICTORY. || O death? where is thy 
sting*? O grave, where is thy victory*? || The sting 
of death is SIN^ ; and the strength of sin is the law*. 
5 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory 

1 From " changed" to " trump " with quickened movement. 

2 Continued and cumulative emphasis to the end of the sentence. 

3 Continued and gradually increasing emphasis to " VICTORY,*' 
Let the emphasis, here and throughout, be not suddenly applied to 
the marked words, but led up to in the slide of sentence emphasis 
(see § 55). 

4 Deep, grave tone. Not too emphatic, as the inferior condition. 

5 Full but calm emphasis, as becomes the repose of a settled 
conclusion. 



ELOCUTION AND THE LITURGY 225 

through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my 
beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, immovable, al- 
ways abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch 
as ye know that your labour is not in vain" | in the 
Lord 'V 

5. "Man that is born of a woman," etc., is the 
profound expression of the discipline of the darker 
side of life — to be read in low, deep tones, but very 
sympathetically, changing to the higher tone of 
supplication at "Yet, O Lord God most holy, | O 
Lord, most mighty," and falling at "suffer us not" 
to a lower pitch. 

The Committal, "Forasmuch," etc., should em- 
ploy the tone of deepest solemnity and sympathy, 
and should be read with marked deliberation and 
with pauses according to the punctuation. It brings 
us to the lowest depth of the feeling of awe which is 
inevitable to all thoughtful men, and the voice may 
very properly sound its lowest note on the words, 
"earth to earth, || ashes to ashes, | dust to dust|||" ; 
but only to begin to gradually rise again in pitch and 
brighter tone at the mention of the Resurrection, 

1 The calm sequel to the preceding argument and feeling, bringing 
us back to daily duty — a relief from the preceding intensity of 
emphasis. Here is a modulation into a lower and milder tone. 
15 



226 THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE VOICE 

concluding with solemn, but not doleful, reading of 
the description of the second coming. 

"I heard a voice," etc., should be read in a 
monotone (reflective), and in a somewhat higher 
pitch than the preceding, because of the impression 
produced upon the imagination by the picture 
therein presented — falling to a lower pitch at ' ' for 
they rest from their labours. ' ' 

Note. — It is evident in the examination of the proper render- 
ing, indicated above, that the ability to change the pitch by de- 
grees is most important in such a Service as this, — to carry the 
voice up or down, word by word, as it were, in an ascending or 
descending scale, without actual singing or sing-song. It is 
essential to the natural expression of marked changes of feeling 
(see § 32). 



PART VI 

THE PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

[Including Lessons, Epistles, and Gospels] 



CHAPTER I 

THE GENERAL SPIRIT AND MANNER OF THE 
READING 

92. — The effective reading of the Bible depends 
upon something higher than elocutionary skill — 
even upon the mental and spiritual attitude of the 
reader. This is not liturgic, except that the reading 
is associated with liturgical renderings before and 
after it, a situation which promotes a reverent de- 
livery, but should not induce sing-song. Generally 
speaking, the Bible is the inspired word of God — 
God speaking to man, and, therefore, a revelation 
to the reader as well as to the hearers. The ex- 
ceptions are the quotations from ordinary human 
speech, or from evil characters, and some dry state- 

227 



228 PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

ments of fact in history and chronology. Even these 
exceptions should be regarded as admitted in ac- 
cordance with the supreme purpose of the Bible, 
which is to give a history of the revelation of 
divine, eternal truth. Reading of Scripture, then, 
comes close to preaching in its demand for reverent 
and real expressiveness. It should be, at all times, 
not perfunctory, but interpretative, more so than 
the Liturgy, because in its succession of selections 
it has constant variety and comparative freshness of 
matter. Its method and aim are for instruction: 
the reading should be, therefore, " intelligible, in- 
telligent, and reverent " (Bishop A. C. A. Hall). 

The manner of reading the Bible should involve : 
(i) Due preparation, (2) A reverent physical atti- 
tude and vocal tone. (3) Full command of elo- 
cutionary resources. (4) Regard for differences of 
style and for degrees in the power of inspiration. 
(5) Such a consciousness of the Divine Word as will 
cause the reader to feel that his own personality is 
only the agent for communicating and vocally inter- 
preting truth — not the originator of it. This con- 
sciousness should govern all the other elements of 
the delivery. 

93. The Preparation. — An early familiarity with 
the English Bible, by repeated readings, is the best 



GENERAL SPIRIT AND MANNER 229 

general preparation that could be devised. But, as 
this is now so uncommon, it is incumbent upon 
candidates for the ministry that they should supply 
the lack, if it exists, by diligent daily readings, par- 
ticularly of those portions included in the Lection- 
ary, the Epistles, and the Gospels. The reading of 
entire books of the Bible, also, is indispensable to 
the understanding of chapters and selections, in 
their relation to the context. 

All the other studies of the minister should also 
be brought to bear on the vocal interpretation. 
The meanings in the original languages, the history 
and exegesis given in the seminary and supple- 
mented by subsequent study, all contribute to effec- 
tive reading. The power of accurate knowledge is 
the foundation of the power of real interpretation. 
It is well to read the Revised Version as a scholarly 
commentary, and, especially, the poetic portions, 
which are there printed according to the form of 
Hebrew poetry, e.g., "The Song of the Bow," 2 
Sam. 1, the dialogue or responsive style of Psalms 
24 and 121 (not in Lessons, but illustrative), and 
much of the Prophets. Read also The Literary 
Study of the Bible, by Richard G. Moulton. 

The Scriptures for the day should also be care- 
fully read, not long before the services; and this 



230 PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

practice should be continued, at least until they 
have become familiar by repetition. Those who 
lack early familiarity with the Bible will find this 
especially useful. 

94. The Physical Attitude, Vocal Tone, etc. — The 
public reading of the Word, for ages past, has been 
regarded as an office of the greatest dignity. The 
Lectern should be approached with deliberation ; 
the Book should be handled with respect; the 
places should have been previously found by the 
minister, or a thoroughly competent person (serious 
awkwardness has often been caused by mistakes in 
this) ; the reader should stand erect and quiet, not 
moving much from the one position, and with care- 
ful avoidance of pronounced head-gesticulation and 
involuntary motions ; the eyes should not be glued 
to the Bible, although generally and necessarily 
directed there, because the reader is not reciting, 
but should glance occasionally upward toward the 
people for freedom of expression. The announce- 
ments should be given with deliberation, and should 
never be inaudible, indifferent, or hasty, although 
made subordinate to the Scripture itself. They are 
liturgical, — "Here beginneth," "Here endeth," 
"The Epistle," "The Holy Gospel," etc. 

The voice varies with the style of the Scripture, 



GENERAL SPIRIT AND MANNER 23 1 

but should always be strong and distinct enough to 
deliver the Word to the people. A pause should 
always be made after the announcement and before 
"Here endeth " in order to separate the different 
uses — lesson and liturgy. The latter is especially 
important to propriety in some instances, e. g. y in 
concluding 1 Thess. 4, "wherefore comfort one an- 
other with these words." — "Here endeth the second 
lesson." 

95. The Elocution. — All the elocutionary resources 
should be at command. No public reader is as re- 
sponsible, in this respect, as the Reader of the Bible. 
Tone, enunciation, power, and rhythm should be as 
carefully and particularly studied as the sense of 
Scripture, in the preparation. The Bible is remark- 
ably rhythmical, and a special study of this feature 
is advisable, both to bring out the beauty of the 
text and to prevent that common and flagrant fault 
— sing-song. Special attention should be given, 
also, to the proper falling inflections, the neglect of 
which, arising from ignorance, lack of study, or the 
want of the reality of true expression, makes the 
reading mechanical, monotonous, and meaningless. 
The Bible is filled with living thought and words, 
for living men, and is not the ghostly voice of 
an incantation. But extremes of elocution should 



232 PUBLIC READING OF HOL/ SCRIPTURE 

be avoided. The median stress is most frequently 
demanded and should be mastered, as the chief 
emphasis of reverent and solemn delivery. 
Faults, not wholly elocutionary, are : 
/. General inexpressiveness. — This results from 
making different passages the same in style of de- 
livery, with no distinction between the sublime and 
the simple, between joy and sorrow, prophecy and 
narrative, epistle and song, between the tender in- 
vitations of Divine mercy and the denunciations of 
Divine wrath. Almost as bad as weak rendering of 
strong passages, is the sonorous preaching out of the 
simplest narrative, as in Gen. 40: 20-23, or St. Matt. 
19: 1, 2, and many similar verses in the Gospels. 
Such passages should be subordinated in tone. 

2. Lack of sympathy with the theme or the occasion 
— e - g*<> pronouncing the eight woes upon the 
Pharisees and Sadducees, St. Matt. 23: 13-36, with- 
out denunciatory tone, or St. Matt. 23: 37-39, "O 
Jerusalem," etc., without pathos; reading the 
Christmas lessons without the tone of joy, or the 
Good Friday lessons and the account of the cruci- 
fixion without the tone of sorrow. This lack is the 
cause of many improprieties. 

3. Extremes of tone or expression — among which 
may be mentioned : a. The purely dramatic manner. 



GENERAL SPIRIT AND MANNER 233 

The dramatic element, such as is found in the stories 
of David and Goliath and of Elijah on Mt. Carmel, 
should be suggested, not vocally acted out. The 
highest emotions appear in the Bible, but their ex- 
pression should be moderate, b. Monotony, which 
has no place in any reading, c. The plaintive voice, 
which, in its excess, degenerates into a whine, 
reminiscent of those days "when the 'language of 
Canaan,' droned through the nostrils, was the vocal 
indication of a peculiar type of piety." d. Manner- 
ism, or undue refinement of expression, mincing 
tones, attenuation of voice, etc. "Beauty," in voice 
as in other things, "is the economy of strength," 
not of delicacy alone. It should always be evident 
to the ear that it is a man who is reading. 



CHAPTER II 

ADAPTATION OF THE READING TO DIFFERENT 
STYLES OF COMPOSITION 

96. It is difficult to classify precisely particular 
passages in the Bible according to the characteristics 
of style, because of the exuberance and complexity 
of Oriental expression. A merchant of to-day in a 
bazaar in Damascus may include the historic, the 
descriptive, the oratoric, and the dramatic elements, 
in his plea for the purchase of a rug. In the largest 
way, the Bible reveals a similar blending of styles, 
because of its purely Oriental origin. But, for con- 
venience in study, a general classification may be 
made, with the understanding that different styles 
often enter into the same chapter or even the same 
paragraph. 

The following are the varieties selected, with 
references to illustrative passages 1 : 

1. Narrative and Description (the historical por- 

1 Throughout the use of this section, it is expected that students 
will have the Bible at hand, to avoid the printing of copious extracts 
here. 

234 



ADAPTATION TO STYLE 235 

tions of the Bible). — This may be simple or elevated, 
the latter often reaching the epic spirit, or the sub- 
lime, with many grades between. The use of the 
voice needs only the application of foregoing ex- 
planations here, but is quite natural and of the con- 
versational method in the simpler passages. The 
effort should be to make the story real, the descrip- 
tion clear, and elevated passages impressive. 

It is essential that the reader should have his 
imagination so vivid and intelligent that he can pic- 
ture to himself all the scenes of which he reads. 
Biblical learning, even to a moderate degree, is all 
helpful here. Lack of imagination makes many a 
reader dull, monotonous, and like a child reciting by 
rote a story which he does not understand. Abra- 
ham before his tent, — Joseph in the pit or the 
palace, — the hosts of Pharaoh overwhelmed in the 
sea, as Moses and Miriam saw them and sang of 
them, — Samuel in his little room hearkening to the 
voice of God, — David, the youth, facing the giant 
Goliath in the presence of two armies, — David, the 
king, in his glory and his contrition, — Solomon 
praying before the multitude at the dedication of 
the temple, — Elijah on Mt. Carmel, — Jesus with 
His disciples and on the cross, — the Apostles and 
Stephen, as they stood in dramatic situations, — and 



236 PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

the visions of the prophets and of St. John : — all 
these scenes must take form in the imagination of 
the reader, before he can do justice to his reading. 
This faculty is emphasized here because it is sluggish 
or unformed in many a man who, although devout 
and earnest, wonders why he cannot read the de- 
scriptive lessons as some imaginative men do read 
them. It applies as well to mere details of narra- 
tive, as in St. Matt. 5:1, which is at once a narrative 
and a picture. 

Passages for illustration and practice are noted be- 
low : some of these pass into other styles, which will 
be mentioned in advance, to be referred to again. 

Simple, familiar, or but little elevated : Oriental 
hospitality, Gen. 18: 1-15 ; — Betrothing of Rebecca, 
Gen. 24; — Joseph and his brethren, Gen. 42; — 
Judah's pathetic appeal, Gen. 44 ; — the Book of Ruth 
(idyllic); — Samuel before Eli, 1 Sam. 3 (" Samuel, 
Samuel," in verse 10, should be read with rising in- 
flection on both words. So, also, " Moses, Moses," 
in Exodus 3:4. "Here am I," always with sus- 
pended inflection on "I"); — Elisha, 2 Kings 4; — 
the story of Naaman, 2 Kings 5 ; Job 1 : 1-5 ; — and 
most of the Gospel narratives. 

Elevated narrative and description : The Creation 
and Fall, Gen. 1, 2, 3. (The first chapter is epic in 



ADAPTATION TO STYLE 237 

form. The first five verses should be read very 
slowly and weightily, with pauses at the punctua- 
tion, and falling inflection at the periods and on 
"void," 2d v., and "good," 4th v. ; for the reading 
of the 3d v., see § 59, ( j), — Distributed Emphasis) ; — 
the Flood, Gen. 7 and 8; — Abraham's vision, Gen. 
1 5 ; — the Trial of Abraham (Good Friday lesson), 
Gen. 22;— Mission of Moses, Exodus 3 and 4; — 
Giving of the Law, Exodus 19 and 20 ; — the Golden 
Calf, Exodus 32; — the Rebellion of Korah, Num. 
16. (Occasion here for much variety in tone-color, 
etc. — e. g.> v. 3, bold assertion, v. 4, pause and very 
grave tone, change of movement at verses 31 and 
36, also some of the dramatic element). — Balaam, 
Num. 22, 23, 24, (24: 15-24, prophetic and epic); — 
the Dedication of the Temple, 1 Kings 8, including 
the element of prayer in sustained, high-middle 
pitch and sympathetic tone; — Elijah, 1 Kings 17, 
18, 19, in 18: 20-40, dramatic; (compare v. 24 with 
v. 39, and see that in v. 39 strong falling inflection 
with radical stress must be used in "the Lord\ he? is 
the G6d !" etc.); — Hezekiah, etc., Isaiah 37, with 
the prayer of Hezekiah, 14-20, and the didactic- 
prophetic passage, 21-35 ; — tne story of Daniel, 
largely dramatic, Dan. 2, 3,4, 5, 6; — the Nativity, 
St. Luke 2: 1— 1 5 ; — Narratives of the Resurrection; 



238 PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

— Day of Pentecost, Acts 2 ; — Triumphs of faith, 
Heb. ii; — Description of vision, Rev. 1, 7, 14, 15, 
22. (Compare also Ezekiel 37, etc.) 

There are passages scattered through the preced- 
ing which might be characterized as didactic, and 
somewhat oratoric in style — e. g., Rev. 22: 13-21. 

2. Didactic Style. — This may be divided into the 
simple and the elevated. It is the language that 
contains appeal to sense of duty and to obligation 
to think concerning life and death, etc. It teaches 
divine truth in direct form. It makes the least de- 
mand upon power of expression except in its most 
elevated forms, as in St. Paul's Epistles, which 
sometimes rise to eloquence, as in 1 Cor. 2, and into 
poetry, as in 1 Cor. 13. The didactic style requires, 
however, the most careful interpretation and, con- 
sequently, most accurate inflection and emphasis. 
For the simpler form of the didactic, we may read 
the Book of Proverbs, noting that a verse here and 
there rises to the prophetic style. 

The Book of Ecclesiastes may be called elevated- 
poetic-didactic. Many passages in the Prophets 
which warn their contemporaries against the evil 
tendencies of the times are on the same plane, as in 
Jeremiah 9 and Ezekiel 14. 

The Epistles of St. Paul and the Epistle to the 



ADAPTATION TO STYLE 239 

Hebrews are of the higher order, involving much of 
the oratoric spirit in the didactic form. 

The shorter Epistles of St. John, St. Peter, St. 
James, and St. Jude are simpler in style, but have 
their own characteristics. St. John is emotional and 
eloquent, — see 1 John 4; — St. Peter is plain, terse, 
and emphatic, — see 1 Pet. 2; — St. James is collo- 
quial and argumentative, with some " Oratoric In- 
terrogative," as in 4: 1-5; — the Epistle of St. Jude 
is condensed emphasis, but must not be read in a 
way to suggest personal authority in the reader. 

In the Apocrypha we find the " wisdom-teaching " 
in Ecclesiasticus 37, and the more elevated and pro- 
phetic style in Wisdom of Solomon 3 : 1-10. 

The teachings of our Lord are partly in this form, 
but have supreme emphasis because of their author- 
ship, their clearness and brevity, their style being 
undoubtedly affected by the oral delivery. Special 
attention should be given to the Beatitudes, which 
are not always read with proper expression. They 
should be after this manner: "Blessed are the poor 
in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," — 
i. e., emphasis on "Blessed" and falling inflection 
before "for" in each one. In His teaching, the 
"Verily, verily" should be read deliberately and 
emphatically, because it is used to call special 



240 PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

attention to what follows. In St. Luke 21, He rises 
to the prophetic style, and also in some shorter pas- 
sages, which, however, are included in the didactic 
purpose. In St. John's report of His discourses, we 
may not have so close a record of His very words, 
but the spirit of His teaching is most manifest there. 
In St. John 14, 15, 16, we have the highest form of 
teaching by statement, made with the power of Him 
"that came down from heaven, even the Son of 
man which is in heaven" (St. John 3: 13), and in 
St. John 6, He teaches of His Divinity. All these 
teachings of our Lord should be read with peculiar 
care and reverence, and in a more subdued tone 
than the words of the Apostles. There is in them 
the repose, the serenity of perfect and infinite wis- 
dom unmingled with human speculation, which 
should be reflected or, at least, suggested in our 
reading. 

The Epistles of St. Paul are the most difficult of 
all portions of the Bible to read because of the in- 
volved character of his epistolary style in many 
passages in which his thoughts seem to rush like the 
waters of Niagara, clearly enough at first, but soon 
with separate currents, which intermingle, and over- 
ride one another, making apparent confusion, yet 
coming out with wonderful clearness and power at 






ADAPTATION TO STYLE 24 1 

the end. We find this characteristic very marked 
in Eph. 1, which might be punctuated as only one 
complex sentence, and is so pointed in the Author- 
ized Version, save for two periods, after the 12th 
and 14th verses, the first being followed by a relative 
clause. Similar to this is the third chapter, ending, 
however, in clear and majestic doxology. Such 
a style is difficult to read. It requires unusual 
slowness and distinct pauses, with marked empha- 
sis, in order that the hearers may have time to take 
in such meaning as the reader may be able to indi- 
cate. It is possible that this first chapter has never 
been made perfectly clear as a whole, to any one, at 
any single reading ; but in parts, at least, it may be 
made clear by the method just suggested. St. Paul's 
most perfect writing is undoubtedly in 1 Cor. 13, 
the Epistle for Quinquagesima Sunday, and in 1 
Cor. 15:20-58. The latter, the burial lesson, has 
been discussed in its place. The former deserves 
particular attention because of its high poetic form, 
and because it is so often read without the proper 
inflections, especially the falling, the explicative in- 
flection, always most necessary in such philosophic- 
didactic style. It is added, with some marking to 
assist expressive reading : 

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of 
16 



242 PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

an'gels,* | and have not charity, | I am become as 
sounding brass, or a tinkling cym^bal. And though 
I have the gift of prophecy,** | and understand all 
mysteries,** and all knowledge**; and though I 
have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, | 
and have not charity, || I am ndthing. And though 
I bestow all my goods to feed the pdor, | and though 
I give my body to be burned, || and have not charity, 
| it profiteth me nothing. Chanty suffereth I6ng, 
and is kind* ; | charity enVieth not ; | charity vaunteth 
not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself 
unseemly 1 ; | seeketh not her own', is not easily pro- 
vdked, thinketh no evil 1 ; | rejoiceth not in iniquity, | 
but rejoiceth in the tritth *; \ beareth all things', be- 
lieveth all things', hopeth all things', endkreth all 
things. 1 1| Charity | never faileth : | but whether there 
be prophecies, | they shall fail*; | whether there be 
tongues, | they shall cease*; \ whether there be kn6w- 
ledge, | it shall vanish away. 2 1| For we know in part, 

*The rising inflection on "angels," as often given, fails to impart 
the real meaning, which is "or even of an^gels," those who have 
the higher knowledge and expression (under our present conditions, 
seeing " through a glass, darkly"). 

** These words are too important, individually, to make a mere 
series with falling inflection at the end, as each points out a particular 
kind of learning or "gift " of St. Paul's time. 

J = Pause. I = Longer pause. 

1 Series. 2 Antithesis. 



ADAPTATION TO STYLE 243 

and we prophesy in part, 1 | but when that which is 
perfect is come, | then that which is in part shall be 
done away". || When I was a child, I spake as a child, 
I understood as a child, I thought as a child 3 ; | but 
when I became a man, I put away childish things* || 
For now | we see through a glass, darkly; but then 
face to face V | now | I know in part ; but then shall 
I know even as also I am kndwn, h \\\ And now abideth 
FAITH, I HOPE, I CHARITY, [ these three ; || but the 
greatest of these | is CHARITY. 6 " 

j. The Oratoric Style. — This differs from the di- 
dactic, to which it frequently furnishes a climax, by 
the addition of a purpose to convince and persuade, 
as well as to instruct. Even when found in passages 
that were written, not delivered as speeches, the 
author evidently, in imagination, was full of the 
oratoric spirit. This is true of the prophets, who 
may have delivered many of their utterances as ser- 
mons, and of St. Paul, whose style is mostly ora- 
toric rather than epistolary. (The purely epistolary 
style may be seen in the third Epistle of St. John.) 
The oratoric style of delivery, then, should be 

I = Pause. I = Longer pause. 1 1 1 = Longest pause. 

1 Series. 2 Antithesis. 

3 Not emphatic, subordinate for illustration. 

4 Distributed emphasis. 5 Slide of cumulative emphasis. 

6 Very emphatic throughout the sentence. 



244 PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

suggested, in reading the Prophets and the Epistles, 
by a strengthening of the tone, the accentuation, 
the emphasis, and the pauses. The passages that 
are given strictly as speeches require this delivery 
in every word, with, generally, more of the effusive 
than the expulsive or explosive orotund, because 
the intention of the Bible oratory is to awaken 
something in the hearers themselves, " not to 
drive something into them from without." Es- 
pecially should the beginning and the end of such 
a passage be marked by the oratoric manner of 
utterance. 

The various purposes of oratory appear in all their 
forms in the Bible, — conviction, persuasion, rebuke, 
denunciation, consolation, encouragement, etc., and 
should be brought out by the reading. 

Examples for illustration are: Nathan's rebuke 
of David, 2 Sam. 12 : 7-12, (strong emphasis on 
"Thou," v. 7); — Isaiah's warnings, etc., Isa. 5: 20- 
30, 9: 8 to 10: 4; 28, 30, 31, 40. (This last chapter 
is most eloquent with consolation in "Comfort ye," 
etc., with encouragement in "O Zion," etc., v. 9; 
with oratoric interrogation in verses 25, 27, 28. — Isa. 
44: 9-20; 52, 53, 54 (most eloquent encourage- 
ment); — 55 (a perfect evangelistic sermon); etc. — 
Ecclesiastes 11: 9 to 12: 7 is plainly a sermon to 



ADAPTATION TO STYLE 245 

young men. — Ezekiel 18, especially vv. 19-32, is 
strongly oratorio. So is Malachi, throughout. 

The poetic form of the prophetical writings does 
not conflict with the oratoric style, because Oriental 
eloquence has always been poetic. "Hebrew litera- 
ture centres in the lyric and the oratoric ' ' (Dr. 
Curry). In fact the influence of that kind of ex- 
pression has passed along through the oratory of 
the ages and is found to affect the finest passages of 
modern orators, doubtless because of their familiarity 
with the Bible. For example, note Webster's great 
peroration, "When my eyes shall be turned to be- 
hold, for the last time," etc., and Lincoln's second 
inaugural, quoted in this book. 

The sermons and addresses of our Lord may have 
this style in a moderate degree. That He was 
capable of the most powerful speaking we know 
from several examples of denunciation; but He 
chose to restrain Himself, generally, more than 
ordinary men. His speeches, or sermons, there- 
fore, should be read with corresponding restraint. 
The passage in Matt. 6 : 24-34 is the most oratoric 
portion of the Sermon on the Mount. Matt. 18: 
3-20 is distinctly oratoric. But the most striking 
example of all is His denunciation of the Scribes 
and Pharisees in Matt. 23. The points of delivery 



246 PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

to be noticed are : a calm but weighty utterance of 
"Woe unto you, ] Scribes and Pharisees, | hypo- 
crites!" as here marked; a long pause before the 
37th verse, and the most pathetic reading of verses 
37~39- This chapter has been variously interpreted 
by different readers, but the result of their discus- 
sions seems to be that the prevalent tone should be 
one of sorrowful but positive denunciation. The 
extremely forcible style and the repetition of the 
"woes" does not admit of a sorrowful feeling as 
the only one. Matt. 24 contains a forcible speech. 
The discourses in St. John's Gospel cannot be classed 
under the oratoric style, because they were spoken, 
mostly, to an individual or to the inner circle of 
His disciples, and therefore quietly, and, further, are 
not, probably, so verbatim a report, as the sayings 
in the other Gospels. The exceptions to this may 
be in John 6 and 8. 

There remain the speeches and sermons quoted in 
the Acts of the Apostles : St. Peter's sermon on the 
Day of Pentecost, Acts 2: 14-40, Acts 3: 12-26; 
St. Stephen's historic appeal, Acts 7; St. Peter to 
Cornelius, Acts 10: 34-43; St. Paul's sermon, Acts 
13: 16-41 ; St. James' address to the council at 
Jerusalem, Acts 15: 13-29; St. Paul's remarkable 
sermon on Mars' Hill, Acts 17: 22-31 ;— St. Paul be- 



ADAPTATION TO STYLE 247 

fore the chief captain at Jerusalem, Acts 22 : 1-2 1 ; — 
in answer to Tertullus, Acts 24: 10-21 ; — before 
Agrippa, Acts 26: 2-29. 

4.. The Prophetic Style. — This differs little, in the 
delivery, from the oratoric, because we may call the 
Prophecies simply heraldic oratory. Prophets have 
had two functions, — forth-telling and fore-telling, 
those of the preacher and the seer, but the predom- 
inant style is that of the forth-teller. 

The bolder passages require energy and fulness of 
voice; the expulsive orotund and sometimes the 
singing tone with straight inflection, i. e., mono- 
tone, is most appropriate. 

Examples : Joel 2: i-n, 3: 9-17; — Isaiah 55 : 1-5 
(a little of the calling tone in v. 1) ; — Isaiah 1 (tone of 
indignation, but not too strong) ; — joy and triumph, 
Isaiah 52, 60 (a prophetic song); — the glory of the 
kingdom, Micah 4;— reproof of Jerusalem, Zeph. 3; 
— etc. 

The gentler passages should be read with subdued 
power and with much of the straight inflection. 

Examples : Isaiah 43 : 14-28, 52 : 13 to 53 : 12, 61 ; 
— the Lamentations of Jeremiah ; in chapter 1 : i~8, 
there is particular occasion for the vanishing stress 
(see § 55). 

5. The Epic, Dramatic, and Lyric Styles. — It is 



248 PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

universally conceded that the highest forms of 
poetry are found in the Bible. In the Bible espe- 
cially the epic seems to include the other two as the 
prevailing mode. It is, for approximate definition, 
the poetic representation of great events and great 
men that show forth the highest truths. The dra- 
matic in some instances is less poetic in form than 
the others, but has a similar spirit. In English, 
Milton may be regarded as the finest exponent of 
the epic form, Shakespeare of the dramatic, Byron 
(though not exclusively), in his sacred poems, of the 
lyric. All of these drew large inspiration from the 
Bible. The dramatic style deals more minutely 
with the personages : the lyric is the pure song, ex- 
pressing an individual emotion in some cases, but 
always in the Bible with reference to some large or 
national or universal idea and, therefore, is allied 
there to the epic. 

These elements also enter into other kinds of 
writing, but deserve attention and proper rendering 
there. 

In the vocal expression of these forms there is re- 
quired an artistic sense of special inflection, emphasis, 
and rhythm, and of the tone-color which indicates 
the varying moods. The imagination must be fully 
alive to every picture and every shade of emotion. 



ADAPTATION TO STYLE 249 

Examples: The Song of Moses, Exod. 15; — the 
Song of Deborah, Judges 5 ; — the Song of Hannah, 1 
Sam. 2; — the Song of the Bow, 2 Sam. 1 : 19-27; — 
Isaiah 35 ; — the Magnificat, St. Luke 1 : 46-55 ;— the 
Song of Simeon, St. Luke 2 : 29-32 ; — the Song of 
Solomon, and the Psalms. These are generally 
lyric-epic. The Song of Solomon is also dramatic. 

For the dramatic, we have the story of Judah, 
etc., Gen. 44; — the story of David and Goliath, 1 
Sam. 17: 32-51 ; — the story of Absalom, 2 Sam. 18; 
— Elijah and the prophets of Baal, 1 Kings 18 : 17-46, 
and 19; — the story of the crucified malefactors, St. 
Luke 23 : 39-43. We have also the entire book of 
Job, which is a dramatic poem, or a sacred drama. 
' ' For the stage, we have a hill outside the city ; for 
scenery, a rising storm, the flashing lightning, the 
rolling thunder, and a rainbow ; for characters, Job 
and his friends, Satan, and even God; and for a 
theme, the mystery of human suffering, the same 
found in the ' Prometheus Unbound ' of ^Eschylus, 
and Hamlet's 'To be or not to be,' the problem of all 
problems, the mystery of human existence." — Dr- 
Curry's Literary and Vocal Interpretation of the Bible. 

The histories of the Creation and the Flood are 
also epic in character, and much of the Revelation 
of St. John is dramatic in the loftiest form. 



250 PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

In the reading of these passages, while the im- 
agination is fully alive, care must be taken not to 
imitate the supposable tones of personages in the 
dialogues. Suggestion is sufficient and better. A 
strictly dramatic rendering of any part of the Bible 
is entirely inappropriate, at least in Divine Service. 
Let there be reading, not dramatic recitation there. 
The Consciousness of the Divine Word should make 
this certain. 

6. The Allegoric Style. — This is found in all early 
literature and is especially developed in the Orient ; 
hence it is prominent in the Bible and was selected 
by our Lord as the best method of instructing a 
people who could understand story better than phi- 
losophy or theology, and who were to be taught 
that the " kingdom" was not to be a literal one, but 
a community of souls under personal spiritual power. 
His parables are to be read as symbolic of greater 
meaning than appears on the surface, and with active 
imagination to see the scenes which He presents. 
We may take the Prodigal Son as the greatest of 
them all, because of its universal application to the 
spiritual history of men. Its reading should be 
expressive of it as a masterpiece of word-painting, 
with sure touch in every line. It is one of the 
richest passages for expression; e.g., "and when he 



ADAPTATION TO STYLE 25 1 

had spent all," — "with the husks that the swine 
did eat," — the reflective tone of his soliloquy, verses 
17-19, — the vivid picture in v. 20, "And he arose 
and came to his father. And when he was yet a 
great way off [slow movement'] his father saw him, 
[the following in quicker movement expressive of feel- 
ing] and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his 
neck, and kissed him." — v. 21, the pathos of the 
son's confession, especially in the word Father, — 
verses 22-24, the joyous tone of the father's voice, — 
verses 28-30, 1 the suggestion of anger, — verses 31, 
32, the father's calm, dignified joy. 

There is much allegory in the Old Testament, but 
it can be included under other heads, as it is mostly 
within the epic form. 

7. Prayer. — This is the remaining form of ex- 
pression in the Bible ; it demands the utmost rever- 
ence combined with clear tone and fervid emphasis. 
Here, we cannot make the prayers our own, but 
suggest the feeling of the authors. 

For examples, we have the intercessory prayers 
of Abraham, Gen. 18; — the prayer of Solomon at 
the dedication of the Temple, 1 Kings 8, and 2 
Chron. 6; — the prayer of Elijah, 1 Kings 18: 36, 37; 

1 In verse 29, give falling inflection and median stress to the word 
1 ' kid,** so as to contrast the inferior feast with the greater. 



252 PUBLIC READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 

— the prayer of Hezekiah, 2 Kings 19: 14-19; — Ezra 
9 : 6-1 5 ; — Daniel 9 : 3-19 ; — Jonah 2 ; — also Psalm 5 1 
— in the Old Testament. In the New Testament we 
have the prayers of our Lord. "The Lord's Prayer" 
in Matt. 6: 9-13 should be read more slowly and 
with more emphasis, pause, and interpretation than 
in the Service, because it is given in the Scripture 
as a model. The last prayer in St. John 17 requires 
more reverence and restraint of the reader's per- 
sonal element, than any other passage in the Bible, 
because it is the sacred personal outpouring of the 
heart of the Divine Son of Man. 



PART VII 

PULPIT ORATORY 



CHAPTER 1 
THE PURPOSE AND METHOD 

97. — In the pulpit, man speaks to man concerning 
divine truth. Pulpit oratory depends upon the 
same forces of soul, mind, voice, and action, as any- 
other kind of oratory, with a difference only in the 
psychic attitude and the purpose involved. The 
oratoric spirit must direct these forces within as 
well as without the pulpit. As long as there are ears 
to hear, minds to think and hearts to feel, there will 
be a demand for oratory in the pulpit. Any good 
oratorical training, therefore, is valuable as a prepar- 
ation for the function of preaching. But the attitude 
of the whole man within, and of the whole external 
expression of the man as a preacher, must be a con- 
centration of all available resources upon a single, 

253 



254 PULPIT ORATORY 

comprehensive purpose — the setting forth, with 
personal power, of the truth that saves and uplifts 
the souls of men. 

What is pulpit " delivery "? Not, as one might 
suppose from hearing some sermons, merely dis- 
charging from the lips what has been committed to 
the manuscript or to the memory of the speaker, 
but the placing, and, even better, the planting of 
the preacher's ideas in the minds of hearers. Not 
getting the truth out of the speaker, for the dis- 
charge of his duty, but getting it into the hearers, 
for their good. "Behold a sower went forth to 
sow." "The seed is the Word of God." 

Sermons that are distinctly theological or histori- 
cal do not require oratory, but, rather, the simpler, 
quieter reading of an essay. They may be omitted, 
therefore, from this discussion, which treats of per- 
suasive preaching, rather than of pulpit instruction. 



CHAPTER II 

THE FUNCTION OF PREACHING ANALYZED 

The following elements of the function of preach- 
ing are necessarily included in it : 

98. The Endeavor to Express Truth through Per- 
sonality. — There is no effective delivery of a sermon 
unless the truth of it is already in the preacher's 
life, or unless what is uttered is felt. The message 
is of God, but through the man, who should be able 
to express, by every resource of oratory, what he 
undertakes to deliver. Without a message of truth, 
the personality is useless ; without an educated per- 
sonality, the message is delivered feebly, if at all. 

Hence, the personality of a preacher must include 
the following qualifications : 

/. Spiritual culture and development, which come 
through consecration to the work of the ministry, — 
for all that follows will be deficient without this 
foundation; through habitual reverence for divine 
truth, — for a full sense of its value gives weight to 

255 



256 PULPIT ORATORY 

its expression ; through a clear, personal faith and 
sound conviction of truth and its application to the 
life of man ; through a definite and growing purpose 
to help men, — for no man can be an orator without 
a distinct end to be gained and a determination to 
reach it; through enthusiasm, — for, though the in- 
spiration of prophets and apostles may have ceased, 
yet no preacher can properly deliver the message of 
Christ unless he has that degree of inspiration, or, 
at least, fervor, which can come into every conse- 
crated man and give him glowing words and an 
earnest manner. The sermon should be a mani- 
festation of the soul of the preacher enriched and 
strengthened by other souls and other ideas than 
his own— not a rehearsing of another's words, the 
representation of another's purpose, the reflection 
of another's enthusiasm. 

2. Mental training and furnishing, — sufficient 
learning to possess the truth and its proper terms, 
sufficient logical ability to present it in due order 
and with persuasive force, and a literary style which 
is not only correct, forcible, and attractive in itself, 
but one that is adaptable to various subjects and 
occasions. For such furnishing, it is well for every 
preacher if he can write and speak something be- 
sides sermons. The oratoric delivery of many a 



THE FUNCTION OF PREACHING ANALYZED 257 

sermon has been made impossible by "fine writing," 
on the one hand, or by loose and crude expression, 
on the other. The former precludes simplicity, 
directness, and fervor; the latter, precision, charm, 
and power. 

3. Physical training. — Voice and action are the 
instruments of the oratoric forces already men- 
tioned. It is unwise to depend on natural voice 
alone, or on any favorite use of the voice. Its re- 
sources should all become available — quality, power, 
pitch, modulation, and a cultivated pronunciation, 
somewhat fuller and more precise than in conversa- 
tion. Nor should voice be depended upon without 
some gesture, because, for reasons suggested by the 
psychic attitude, the whole man—soul, mind and 
body — should be active in the delivery. (See Note 
1, Appendix.) 

^. A trained consciousness — not of self to any 
large degree, but of the subject, of the audience, 
and, lastly, of the speaker, a part of one's sense of 
self being reserved for the sake of intelligently con- 
trolling the rest. Two faults, in this connection, 
if they exist, ought to be trained out of a preacher. 
First, the "losing of one's self in the subject." 
This is oratoric blindness or insensibility. It makes 
delivery vague, loose, extravagant, aimless. The 



258 PULPIT ORATORY 

hearers may not be so much interested in the subject 
as the speaker, he fails to observe that condition, or 
to take any measures to meet it, and the sermon 
becomes effective to the speaker, only. A wise 
layman once said to a young preacher, ' ' Remember 
that the exercise of composing while on your feet 
may be more interesting to you than to your con- 
gregation." Secondly, too great self-consciousness, 
which makes the preacher unduly sensitive to the 
incidents and accidents of the congregation and the 
occasion, so as to lose sight of the main object of 
the speaking, or be led into conceit, affectation, or 
mannerism. There is always the danger of carrying 
into the pulpit too much of the consciousness of 
the priest and not enough of the prophet, or the 
preacher. The consciousness of the pulpit should 
be predominantly oratoric. 

5. Naturalness or Reality. — This should be the 
naturalness of oratory, not of conversation, or ordi- 
nary society. It should be real in its own sphere, 
but the sermon should be on a higher plane than 
conversation. The colloquial style may be used 
occasionally, but not continually, lest oratoric power 
should be weakened. Naturalness, here, in accord- 
ance with the oratoric spirit, should be expressed 
in intense, projective tones, after the manner of 



THE FUNCTION OF PREACHING ANALYZED 259 

St. Paul, who, though "all things to all men " yet 
"spake boldly, as (he) ought to speak." There is, 
indeed, the conversational/^;^ of inflection, etc., 
but it should attain to the oratoric degree. 

Affected sentimentality, prolonged semitone or 
whine, involuntary cadence or "tune," or sing-song, 
recurring repeatedly or regularly, or any other 
peculiarities, are unnatural and do not belong to a 
symmetrical personality. Naturalness is well tested 
in the use of a manuscript. If it cannot be read as 
if ex tempore, then it is a " wet blanket ' ' between 
speaker and congregation, as it has been called. A 
preacher should have learned to break through, or 
speak through, that possible barrier, before he de- 
livers many sermons, because the speaking must be, 
and must seem to be, a spontaneous activity, not an 
effort limited by the presence of the written sermon. 

Naturalness permits a man to expand in his style 
of delivery as he is inspired by the greater occasions. 
Simplicity of purpose and of consciousness ought to 
prevent a preacher from becoming nervous, when 
there seems to be more than usual to face. If the 
inner earnestness is always ready, it will come out 
to fit the occasion. A great preacher once said that 
one could hardly be eloquent to fewer than fifty 
people ; but St. Paul was, and many preachers of our 



200 PULPIT ORATORY 

day are, because, in a measure like him, it is natural 
for them to be earnest before any congregation, and 
to feel that the message they bring is greater than 
the occasion. 

6. Imagination. — This is an essential aid to effec- 
tive preaching, in that it puts truth into pictures in 
the minds both of the speaker and his audience. 
But its influence goes farther than the illustrative 
form, or realistic picture — as in the parables of the 
New Testament. It makes a certain arrangement, 
mentally visible, for every train of thought, which 
gives a clearness to the speaker's vision, and leads 
to a style of expression which an audience cannot 
fail to understand. This power of imagination 
affects the delivery more than is generally realized. 
It is the secret of the eloquence of a poetic mind. 
The lack of it is the cause of a vague, dry, un- 
rhythmic delivery. Experience, both in writing 
and speaking, teaches what to eliminate from sen- 
tences, what to add to them, and how to rearrange, 
sometimes by an instantaneous act of the mind in 
ex tempore speaking, so as to get matter suitable for 
a clear and picturesque delivery. It is hardly neces- 
sary to add that the study of poetry and poetic 
prose, and familiarity with the Bible, are very help- 
ful to the imagination of the preacher. 



THE FUNCTION OF PREACHING ANALYZED 261 

7. The true personality of a preacher is entirely 
free from imitation, in style, voice, or gesture. 
The following passage from Bishop Brooks' Lectures 
on Preaching should be known to every clergyman 
or candidate for orders: (< Iam convinced that the 
only escape from the power of imitation when it 
has once touched us — and, remember, it often 
touches us without our consciousness — you and I 
may be imitating other men to-day and not at all 
aware of it — lies in a deeper seriousness about all 
our work. What we need is a fuller sense of per- 
sonal responsibility and a more real reverence for 
the men who are greater than we are. Give a man 
real personal sense of his own duty and he must do 
it in his own way. The temptation of imitation is 
so insidious that you cannot resist it by the mere 
determination that you will not imitate. You must 
bring a real self of your own to meet this intrusive 
self of another man that is crowding in upon you. 
Cultivate your own sense of duty. The only thing 
that keeps the ocean from flowing back into the 
river is that the river is always pouring down into 
the ocean. And again, if you really reverence a 
great man, if you look up to and rejoice in his good 
work, if you truly honor him, you will get at his 
spirit, and, doing that, you will cease to imitate his 



262 PULPIT ORATORY 

outside ways. You insult a man when you try to 
catch his power by moving your arms or shaping 
your sentences like his, but you honor him when 
you try to love truth and do God's will the better 
for the love and faithfulness which you see in him. 
So that the release from the slavery of superficial 
imitation must come not by a supercilious con- 
tempt, but by a profounder reverence for men 
stronger and more successful than yourself." 

99. Attention to the relation between Style and De- 
livery, — A written sermon should be composed in the 
style of a speech, with attention to simplicity, direct- 
ness, emphasis, and rhythm. If not so composed, 
the delivery is hampered by the style. Not all that 
can be well written can be well spoken, however 
clear and valuable in its own way. We can see this 
in the difference of style between St. Paul's Epistles 
and his addresses. A sermon, serrno, is a speech. 
We know how the preaching of the Gospel in the 
Christian Church began with St. Peter on the Day of 
Pentecost, with St. Paul in his journeys, at Athens 
— where a theological treatise would have been a 
failure — and before Agrippa. Even in the Epistles 
of St. Paul the oratoric style frequently appears. 

There are different kinds of delivery suitable to — 
a. Exegesis; b. Explication or Analysis ', or the setting 



THE FUNCTION OF PREACHING ANALYZED 263 

forth of a topic, perhaps with undramatic illustra- 
tion, — (these two in the didactic style, with delivery 
of moderate force and action on the conversational 
plane); c. Argument — with forensic spirit, orotund 
voice, and oratoric gesture ; d. The Hortatory style, 
including application, appeal, and (perhaps) peror- 
ation, — this style to be delivered with feeling that 
induces strong tone and tone-color, and emphatic 
action — in a word, eloquence : and here is the place 
for rhythmic speech. 

It is a grave error to deliver all sermons, or all 
parts of one sermon, in the same manner. This 
constitutes the tiresome monotony of some preach- 
ers, besides the want of inflection, and might be 
described as merely drifting on the weekly tide of 
sacred rhetoric. Eloquence is out of place in exe- 
gesis, — the lack of it is fatal to a concluding appeal. 
The complete change in the style of delivery, at the 
beginning of a new section of a sermon, admitting, 
of course, the persistence of the same personality, 
may be the means of making forcible what, other- 
wise, would be wearisome. The speaker knows, or 
ought to know, his own purpose in changing the 
style of presentation, and should make the people 
know it, by a suitable change in the delivery, which, 
like similar changes in reading the Scriptures, may 



264 PULPIT ORATORY 

be indicated in the beginning, at least, if not con- 
tinued through the whole passage. For special 
practice in this, read Shakespeare aloud. 

100. Attention to Voice and Gesture. — These should 
be somewhat subdued, generally, in comparison with 
their use in secular speeches, on account of the 
spirit of reverence for divine truth and the pro- 
prieties of the sacred edifice. The quality of voice 
should often be sympathetic and persuasive, with in- 
stinctive and not affected use of the vanishing tone 
(see § 33, 6). The action, by limitation of its sphere 
in a pulpit, or because of vestments, should be 
moderate — rarely dramatic. And yet, it is an error 
to omit all action except that of mere utterance, 
because, without it, there is not a full and harmoni- 
ous expression. Gesture of the head and face with 
moderate use of the hands may be made very effec- 
tive. And here it should be noted that mannerisms, 
i.e. y involuntary, untrained, and habitual motions, are 
a worse error in the pulpit than anywhere else, in- 
dicating, as they do, unintelligent, unsympathetic, 
and uncontrolled expression — a contradiction of es- 
sential elements of a true speech, viz., consciousness, 
naturalness, and imagination. But let both voice 
and gesture be spontaneous activity, the result of 
previous training. (See Note 1, Appendix.) 



THE FUNCTION OF PREACHING ANALYZED 265 

101. Attention to such general requisites for effec- 
tiveness as: 

Life, which depends upon clear articulation, varied 
inflection and emphasis, full tone — often the ex- 
pulsive or explosive orotund, and vigorous rhythm. 

Clearness y which depends largely upon the rhyth- 
mic phrasing. 

Power y which is the result, not alone of an earnest 
spirit, but of vibrant orotund voice, strong empha- 
sis, and emphatic gesture. 

102. Attention to practical details of delivery. 

a. Command attention to the text by a pause and 
a glance at the congregation. Announce the text 
but once and with great distinctness (with occasional 
exception of repetition). The manner of announce- 
ment, whether "In it is written,' ' "The text is 

written," etc., or words of text and then the place 
where found, or simply thus: "The fourteenth 
chapter of the Gospel according to St. John and 
the first verse " — is unimportant. The use of the 
simplest way seems to the author to be the best, 
for the sake of avoiding the multiplication of an- 
nouncements or rubrical statements. 

b. Command attention to the beginning of the 
discourse by a pause and a look at the congregation. 
Never rush from text to sermon. Here, as at other 



266 PULPIT ORATORY 

points, secure the attention and sympathy of the 
people by the use of the eye. The same after the 
invocation, "In the name," etc., if that is used. 

c. Command attention and reverence at the end 
of the sermon by a pause before the ascription, or 
the next movement or announcement in the service. 
Never mutter or hurry the ascription, — a common 
fault ; — it should be said reverently, or not at all. 

d. When using manuscript, which should be writ- 
ten in a large and perfectly plain hand, — large 
especially, in order that the eye can quickly find a 
place in it, — learn to keep the eyes off the page most 
of the time. This is done by a quick glance at 
phrases — which are made familiar by fresh and suffi- 
cient preparation — and, for the instant, committing 
them to memory. This is the secret of a free, ora- 
toric delivery from manuscript. 

e. When extemporizing, due preparation of the 
thought being assumed (Daniel Webster once said, 
"Remember, young man, that you cannot extem- 
porize preparation"}, if necessary to think out 
words or their arrangement, do that thinking in the 
normal pauses of the speech and not in the midst 
of sentences, so as not to betray, by hesitation, the 
process of composition. This rule, though an im- 
portant one, may have exceptions for a purpose, as, 



THE FUNCTION OF PREACHING ANALYZED 267 

sometimes, the frank hesitation in thinking, and the 
result in a well-chosen word or phrase, are more than 
pardonable, even especially telling. But habitual 
indulgence in hesitation is one of the worst blem- 
ishes, especially when accompanied, as it generally 
is, by spasmodic "ur's " and indistinct enunciation. 
(Load the cannon well, before pulling the lanyard.) 

The following are good rules: (1) Speak from 
manuscript as if extemporizing ; (2) Extemporize as 
if furnished with manuscript; — the first, to secure 
freedom and naturalness ; the second, to secure ful- 
ness and precision. 

/. In platform speaking, or preaching from the 
chancel without pulpit or lectern as a shield, greater 
freedom of gesture is permissible, but should be 
carefully guarded. Moving about is unseemly ; the 
hands should not be clasped behind the back (a most 
common resort), nor should they grasp the stole, 
nor, if without vestments, hang on pocket or watch- 
chain. Such actions in a speaker give the impression 
that he needs help, or wants to lean on something ; 
whereas, the proper impression to be made by the 
position and action of the speaker is that the audi- 
ence can accept him, for the time, as their master, 
or, at least, an independent thinker. Every minister 
should have learned, before he begins his life-work, 



268 PULPIT ORATORY 

to control himself in the first position of the orator, 
i. e. y with hands at the sides, and to depart from that 
position only with gesture or some graceful and nat- 
ural movement, such as referring to a memorandum. 
It would seem unnecessary to mention and depre- 
cate the fault of extravagant action, such as pound- 
ing or stamping, did it not appear now and then 
with otherwise good speakers, and if impulsive men 
were not liable to fall into it. One illustration will 
suffice: A person who had heard a strong address 
from a prominent clergyman, who repeatedly em- 
phasized his remarks by a powerful slap on his 
l e g(-)> thus reported his impressions: "I cannot 
recall a word of the address; but I still hear that 
resounding slap! " 



CHAPTER III 

IS IT BETTER TO USE A MANUSCRIPT OR NOT ? 

103. This has been a much debated question, 
which ought to be answered, at least in a way to 
definitely guide the individual preacher. It is fair 
to say that much study and experience have brought 
out the following considerations, leading to a definite 
conclusion for the majority. 

1 'Reading maketh a full man, conference ' a ready 
man, and writing an exact man; and, therefore, if 
a man write little, he had need have a great memory; 
if he confer little, he had need have a present wit; 
and if he read little, he had need have much cunning 
to seem to know that he doth not." — Lord Bacon's 
Essay on Studies. 

Through the ages, great orations on special occa- 
sions, full preparation for which was feasible, have 
generally been written and re-written and then de- 
livered memoriter. But there have always been 

1 Which may be taken to include speaking without notes. 
269 



270 PULPIT ORATORY 

exceptions. Cicero's orations against Catiline were 
probably, in part at least, extemporaneous. Hence 
the fire in the style. (There were shorthand re- 
porters in those days.) Webster, after lifelong 
general preparation, delivered his great speech on 
the ''American Union" ex tempore, as appears in 
comparison of the verbatim report with the now 
published form. So has it been with the great 
sermons. This is the history of occasional oratory. 
For such unusual efforts, reading from manuscript 
has always been avoided, if possible. 

For regular and continued speaking, in which 
some comprehensive subject is treated continuously 
or successively in parts, by professional lecturers, 
lawyers, etc., notes or briefs are generally used, 
without elaboration, beforehand, of the diction. 

The greatest preachers of modern times, with few 
exceptions, have been great extemporizers, but 
never without full preparation. Some of these, 
and some of lower order, have preached memoriter 
with considerable success. But experience has 
shown that either the speaking from memory was 
possible because of extraordinary natural power of 
remembering, or has been based upon an equal 
talent for extemporaneous expression, as in the 
case of the late R. S. Storrs, D.D., a preacher re- 



BETTER TO USE MANUSCRIPT OR NOT? 27 1 

markable for both of those qualifications. The 
union of the two gives confidence because, if lapse 
of memory occurs, the gap may be extemporane- 
ously supplied. Experience has also shown that 
the tax on the mind in memoriter preaching is a 
burden for which its possible advantage over reading 
is hardly a sufficient compensation. The vitality 
expended in extemporaneous speaking is also far 
more than the reading costs. 

Every minister should write sermons, whether he 
afterward reads them or not, for the sake of the 
necessary study, for fulness and exactness of state- 
ment of his own knowledge, for experience in col- 
lecting, arranging, and expressing his personal view 
of all the great topics of Christian doctrine, and for 
the sake of acquiring and polishing his own literary 
style. This is the work of years, should not cease 
before full maturity, and should be resumed, on 
occasions, to the end of his career. After such 
thorough experience, say of five or ten years, at 
least, the ordinary man may be qualified to preach 
as well without notes as with them, because he has 
a general preparation for all ordinary topics, in his 
constant possession. 

But, meanwhile, as a collateral training, he can be 
gaining experience in ex tempore speaking by using 



272 PULPIT ORATORY 

that method, secondarily and subordinately, in short 
addresses at a second Sunday service, in week- 
day services, in the Sunday-school, etc. This will 
be thoroughly good practice all the time, for free- 
dom of expression and for accepting the inspiration 
of the occasion, while the more careful presentation 
of the Gospel in written sermons is constantly en- 
riching and clearing his extemporaneous utterances. 
He will also find, from time to time, the power of 
extemporaneous writing, i. e.> not careless work, 
but writing with a feeling as if the people were be- 
fore him (certainly possible to a man of imagination) 
and so adapting the style for speaking, something 
lacking in men who never extemporize. 

In other words, by this double practice, he will 
be enabled to carry the extemporaneous spirit into 
his writing, and the spirit of accurate composition 
into his extemporizing. 

There is no doubt whatever, that for the ordi- 
nary parochial preaching, after such experience as 
has been described, extemporizing is a most effective 
method, because of the opportunity for an uninter- 
rupted magnetic or oratoric communication between 
preacher and people. The question of no notes at all 
or how many notes is entirely unimportant, so long 
as their presence is not seen or felt by the congrega- 



BETTER TO USE MANUSCRIPT OR NOT? 273 

tion. Let every man choose the details of his own 
method, but to quote a great authority, 1 ''Do no 
violence to your own nature; if your power is 
greater with the pen and reading, use it so; if 
greater without reading, use it so." 

Finally, to meet all the considerations, let every 
candidate for the ministry master the art of ORA- 
TORIO READING, which has been sufficiently set 
forth in the foregoing pages. After all that can be 
said in favor of reading or not reading, this is, for 
the average man, the safest method, the one most 
economical of strength in preparation and delivery, 
and the most effective for the early years of his 
ministry, in the principal Sunday service. To those 
who have had many years of experience, no advice 
is offered here. 

1 Dr. Storrs. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE COURSE OF PREPARATION FOR THE DELIVERY 

OF SERMONS 

104. This should include: 

/. Readings from sermons of the best modern 
preachers, before the class, and privately to the in- 
structor for minute personal criticism; with refer- 
ence to the principles of elocution and expression, 
full oratoric use of the voice, and practice in gesture. 

Only the best sermons should be used, because of 
the incidental advantage of familiarity with them, 
and because of the greater stimulus which they 
afford to the ideal of a sermon and its proper 
delivery. 

2. Extemporizing on familiar and general themes, 
before the class, and privately to the instructor for 
practice and criticism. 

j. Oratoric reading of original sermons, first be- 
fore the instructor and secondly before the class in 
chapel or church, with due formality. 

274 



PREPARATION FOR SERMON DELIVERY 275 

4.. Ex tempore delivery of carefully prepared 
original sermons, first before the instructor, sec- 
ondly before the class. 

In the criticism of these exercises, constant refer- 
ence should be made to the principles of elocution 
and expression, with applications and corresponding 
corrections. 

105. Extracts from sermons for practice are not 
given here, because the best sermons are always 
accessible to students, and it seems better to read 
them in the integrity of their connection, than 
otherwise. 

To conclude this subject the following extract is 
added as a fine example of simple, rhythmic, ora- 
toric style, and an excellent statement of the func- 
tion of preaching, suggestive of an effective delivery : 

''Preach what you know of man's needs and God's 
grace, of brotherhood, of righteousness, of sonship 
in the kingdom of God, and leave your questionings 
and doubts, your processes and debatings, for your 
hours of study and the companionship of your 
books. Let your preaching be the strong, affirma- 
tive, positive message of your Master, who met the 
needs of His age and of all ages, with a declaration 
of the simple and eternal verities of the life of faith 
and sonship. ... If you carry the processes 



CHAPTER IV 

THE COURSE OF PREPARATION FOR THE DELIVERY 
OF SERMONS 

104. This should include : 

1. Readings from sermons of the best modern 
preachers, before the class, and privately to the in- 
structor for minute personal criticism; with refer- 
ence to the principles of elocution and expression, 
full oratoric use of the voice, and practice in gesture. 

Only the best sermons should be used, because of 
the incidental advantage of familiarity with them, 
and because of the greater stimulus which they 
afford to the ideal of a sermon and its proper 
delivery. 

2. Extemporizing on familiar and general themes, 
before the class, and privately to the instructor for 
practice and criticism. 

j. Oratoric reading of original sermons, first be- 
fore the instructor and secondly before the class in 
chapel or church, with due formality. 

274 



PREPARATION FOR SERMON DELIVERY 275 

4.. Ex tempore delivery of carefully prepared 
original sermons, first before the instructor, sec- 
ondly before the class. 

In the criticism of these exercises, constant refer- 
ence should be made to the principles of elocution 
and expression, with applications and corresponding 
corrections. 

105. Extracts from sermons for practice are not 
given here, because the best sermons are always 
accessible to students, and it seems better to read 
them in the integrity of their connection, than 
otherwise. 

To conclude this subject the following extract is 
added as a fine example of simple, rhythmic, ora- 
toric style, and an excellent statement of the func- 
tion of preaching, suggestive of an effective delivery : 

"Preach what you know of man's needs and God's 
grace, of brotherhood, of righteousness, of sonship 
in the kingdom of God, and leave your questionings 
and doubts, your processes and debatings, for your 
hours of study and the companionship of your 
books. Let your preaching be the strong, affirma- 
tive, positive message of your Master, who met the 
needs of His age and of all ages, with a declaration 
of the simple and eternal verities of the life of faith 
and sonship. ... If you carry the processes 



276 PULPIT ORATORY 

of your study, however interesting in themselves, 
into your pulpits, you will fail to reach men. You 
are not to be Christian essayists; you are to help 
men and women smitten with very ancient and 
homely sins, pressed upon by very common temp- 
tations, and suffering the sorrows that are as old 
as humanity, yet as fresh as every new wrench 
that tears human companionship asunder and wrecks 
hopes dear to men and women. Do not go before 
your congregation without some message for those 
on life's common, dusty road. Have something 
which may make the man or woman burdened with 
common toils and humble worries, and the universal 
griefs, look up and feel that God is over all and in 
all, and that He has spoken to them through your 
word." 1 

Such maxims as the above will be true and safe for 
the guidance of the preacher, to the end of time. 
But, between all the spiritual and intellectual power 
of the minister and the good he wishes to do, stand 
the vocal expression and the oratoric action to make 
or to mar the results of his efforts as a pulpit orator. 
Christian thought and doctrine demand a corre- 
spondingly clear and vigorous expression. The 

1 Professor Williston Walker to the graduating class at Yale Theo- 
logical Seminary, 1904. 



COURSE OF PREPARATION 277 

antagonisms of the world must be met by manly, 
skilful utterance of the everlasting strength and 
beauty of holiness. Without oratory, the message 
of Christ to a sinful, tempted, and suffering hu- 
manity is only recited, not driven home in the 
minds and hearts of men. Without gracious and 
cultivated expression, much of the desired effect of 
a well-meant sympathy is lost. Without an en- 
thusiasm voiced with fervor, the inspiring influence 
of the Gospel is dulled or contradicted. 

May all men who are preparing for the sacred 
ministry, whether especially gifted or only moder- 
ately endowed, feel that nothing is more vital to 
their profession than such training of natural 
powers as will give to the messages that fall from 
their lips the power of eloquence. 



APPENDIX 

I 

THE PRONUNCIATION OF SCRIPTURE PROPER 

NAMES 

The list below is intended to present only a few typical 
names, especially those which occur frequently and are 
liable to be mispronounced. 

For a complete list, the student is referred to the Sup- 
plement to the Standard Dictionary, or to the new Inter- 
national Webster. 

The indications of authorities are generally omitted 
from this partial list, and are given only where two or 
more opinions balance. C. stands for the Century 
Dictionary, S. for the Standard, Ch. for Cheyne. The 
secondary accent, *, is inserted in a few words. 

The following rules may be helpful: 

i. Those names which are commonly used in English, 
as Samuel, Isaac, etc., are to be pronounced according 
to popular usage, in order to avoid the appearance of 
pedantry. 

2. The vowels are generally pronounced as in similar 
English syllables ; but in names not Anglicized, a is ah, 
u is oo, e ending a syllable is a. 

279 



280 APPENDIX 

3. The consonants are generally pronounced as in Eng- 
lish. But note, — that ch is always k, except in Rachel; 
c before e, i, and y is s, c before a and o is k, but c in 
Hebrew words is always k. Initial g is hard, except in 
Genesis and Gentile. J may be pronounced as y in Jah, 
Kirjath-jearim, etc., but not in Anglicized names, or 
in Jehovah and Jesus. 

4. Accents vary between the penult and the ante- 
penult. In Old Testament names, as a general rule 
(subject to many exceptions, but convenient in case of 
doubt), accent the antepenult, as Hab'-ak-kuk, Am'-ra- 
phel, El'-la-sar, Rab'-sha-keh. 

Names ending in iah are always accented on the i, 
unless iah is preceded by a vowel, in which case the ac- 
cent is on the penult, and iah is pronounced yah or yu, 
as I-sa'-iah, Ma-as-se'-iah, etc. Names ending in iab 
are accented on the i. Names ending in iel, eel, or 
melech are generally accented on the antepenult. 

5. In case of Old Testament names occurring in the 
New Testament, give the familiar Old Testament forms, 
adopted in the Revised Version, and in the Marginal 
Readings Bible. Thus, St. Luke 4: 26, 27, Elias should 
be Elijah; Eliseus, Elisha; Acts 13: 21, Cis should be 
Kish; Rom. 9: 25, Osee should be Hosea. 



II 



PARTIAL LIST OF SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES 



Aa'-ron, air, C, ar, S. 
Ab'-a-na, or Ab-a'-na, Ch. 



PARTIAL LIST OF SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES 28 1 

Ab'-a-rim, or A-ba'-rim, Ch. 

Ab'-de-el. 

Ab'-di-el. 

A-bed'-ne-go. 

A-bi'-a-thar. 

A-bi'-el, or A'-bi-el, Ch. 

Ab-i-le'-ne. 

A-bish'-a-i, or A-bi'-shai, Ch. 

A-bish'-a-lom, or -a'-lom, Ch. 

A-bish'-u-a, or -shu'-a, Ch. 

A-cel'-da-ma-, c=s; or c=k, Ch. 

A-chai-a, a'-yah or I-a. 

A-cha'-i-cus. 

A-chit'-o-phel (ch=k). 

Ad'-be-el. 

Ad-o-na'-i. 

A-do ff -ni-be'-zek. 

Ad"-o-ra'-im. 

A'-dri-a. 

^E-ne'-as. 

Ag'-a-bus. 

A-has'-u-e'-rus. 

A-him'-a-az. 

A-hith'-o-phel. 

A'-i (a-1). 

Am-phip'-o-lis. 

An'-a-kim. 

An-dro-ni'-cus. 

An-ti'-o-chus. 

An'-ti-pas. 

An-tip'-a-ter. 

An-tip'-a-tris. 



282 APPENDIX 

Aq'-ui-la. 

Ar-che-la'-us. 

Ar"-e-op'-a-gite (jite). 

Ar"-i-ma-the'-a. 

Ar-is-tarch'-us. 

Ar-is-to-bu'-lus. 

A-ro'-er. 

Ar'-te-mas. 

As'-a-hel. 

As'-e-nath. 

Ash'-ta-roth. 

As-mo-de'-us. 

As-nap'-per. 

As-ty'-a-ges. 

A-syn'-cri-tus. 

At-ta-li'-a. 

A-zo'-tus. 



Bal'-a-dan. 

Bar-ti-me'-us. 

Be-el'-ze-bub. 

Be-er'-she-ba. 

Be'-he-moth, or -he'-moth. 

Be'-li-al. 

Be-re'-a (in Acts). 

Be'-re-a (in Apocrypha). 

Ber-ni'-ce, I. 

Beth-ab'-a-ra. 

Beth'-pha-ge (g soft). 

Beth-sa'-i-da. 

Bi-thyn'-i-a. 



PARTIAL LIST OF SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES 283 

Note. — c before e, i, y = s, except in Hebrew words, 
c before a, o = k. 
ch = k. 

Caes'-a-re-a (Sess). 

Cai'-a-phas. (ai = l). 

Ca'-naan (nun). 

Can'-da-ce. 

Cap-pa-do'-ci-a (shi-a). 

Ce'-dron, c = k. 

Cen'-chre-a, c = s or k. 

Ce'-phas. 

Chal-de'-a. 

Ched-or-la'-o-mer (or a-o'-mer). 

Che'-rith (k). 

Chi'-os (k). 

Chit'-tim (k). 

Chub (k). 

Chun (k). 

Ci-li'-ci-a (shi-a). 

Cle'-o-pas, or phas. 

Cni'-dus (nai or kni, Ch.). 

Co-los'-se. 

Cy-re'-ne. 

Cy-re'-ni-us. 

Dan'-iel (yel or i-el). 

Deb'-o-rah. 

Di-an'-a. 

Ed'-re-i. 

El'-El'-o-he-Is'-ra-el, 
El'-i-hu, or E-li'-hu. 



284 



APPENDIX 



El'-i-phaz. 

El-ish'-u-a. 

El'-ka-nah. 

E-lo'-i. 

Em-ma'-us. 

E-paph"-ro-di'-tus. 

E-pen'-e-tus. 

E'-phah. 

Eph'-pha-tha. 

Eph'-od. 

E'-phron. 

Ep-i-cu-re'-ans. 

Es'-ther (ester). 

Eu'-nice, or Eu-ni'-ce (W). 

Eu'-pa-tor, or er. 

Eu-roc'-ly-don. 

E"-vil-me-ro'-dach. 

For-tu-na'-tus. 



Gad-a-renes'. 
Ga'-ius, a. 
Gen-nes'-a-ret. 
Ger'-i-zim. 
Gol'-goth-a. 

Hag'-ga-i. 
Ha-nan'-e-el. 
Ho-se'-a. 
Hy-me-nae'-us, and e'-us. 

Ich'-a-bod. 
I-du-mse'-a, and e'-a. 



PARTIAL LIST OF SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES 285 

I-sa'-iah, a. 
Ish'-bo-sheth, Ch. 
Is'-ra-el (Iz). 
It-u-ras'-a, and e'-a. 

Jah. J may be = y. 

Ja'-ir. 

Ja-i'-rus. 

Jeb'-u-site. 

Jez'-re-el. 

Kib'-roth-hat-ta'-a-vah. 

La-od ff -i-ce'-a. 
La-se'-a. 
Lem'-u-el. 
Lib'- er- tines. 

Mag'-da-lene, or Mag'-da-le'-ne. 

Mat'-thew (Math'-ew). 

Mat-thi'-as (Mathi'-as). 

Me-phib'-o-sheth. 

Mi-le'-tus. 

Mit-y-le'-ne. 

Na'-a-man. 

Na'-in. 

Na'-o-mi. 

Ne-mu'-el. 

Ni-ca'-nor. 

Nic"-o-la'-i-tans, or -tanes. 

O-meg'-a. 

O-ne-siph'-o-rus. 

O-ri'-on. 



286 



APPENDIX 



Pal-es-ti' na, I. 

Par-es-tine, 1. 

Pa'-phos. 

Par'-me-nas. 

Pen'-i-el. 

Pen'-u-el. 

Per'-ga-mos. 

Pha'-raoh, ro (or a-oh). 

Phe-nf-ce, but in Acts 27 : 12, Phe'-nice (really Phoenix). 

Phi-le'-mon. 

Phl-le'-tus. 

Phil-ip'-pi. 

Phil-is'-tine, tin. 

Pi'-late (hit, not late). 

Ple'-ia-des. 

Proch'-o-rus. 

Rab'-bi (bai). 
Rab-bo'-ni (ai). 
Ram'-e-ses. 



Sa-bach'-tha-ni. 

Sab'-a-oth. 

Sa-lo'-me. 

Sapph-i'-ra. 

Sa-rep'-ta. 

Sa'-tan. 

Se'-ir. 

Se-leu'-cia (shia). 

Sen-nach'-er-ib, or -cher'-ib (Ch.). 

Shad'-da-i. 

Shad'-rach (Ch.). 



WORDS OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED 287 



Shar'-on, or Sha'-ron (Ch.). 

She'-chem, or She'-chem. 

Si-lo'-am. 

Si'-nai, Si-nl. 

Si'-nim. 

Si'-on (s = z, by usage). 

Sis'-e-ra. 

Steph'-a-nas. 

Te'-kel. 

Thad-de'-us, or -ae'-us. 

Thes"-sa-lo-ni'-ca. 

Tra"-cho-ni'-tis. 

Troph'-i-mus. 

Tych'-i-cus. 

Uz. 

Zac-chae'-us. 
Zar'-e-phath. 
Ze-rah'-iah (ra-yah). 
Ze-ru'-iah (ya). 



Ill 



WORDS OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED 

[Many of these represent classes of words.] 

Address', not ad'dress. 
Alternate, verb. 
Alter'nate, noun and adjective. 
Alternately, adverb, 
^-thority, not ^r-thority. 



288 APPENDIX 

Begotten, not begutten. 

Bestial, bestiality, e as in yet. 

Blessed, one syllable if part of verb, two syllables if used 

as adjective, e. g., "God bles-sed forever," "In 

thee shall all nations be blessed." 

Cher'ubim, u as in us, not as in use. 
Chrys'ostom, not Chrysos'tom. 
Com'bated, not combated. 
Com'bative, not combative. 
Com'parable, not comparable. 

Des'picable, not despicable. 
Devil, dev'l, not dev-ill nor dev-ull. 
Direct, etc., i as in pin, not die-rect. 
Discourse' (noun), not discourse. 
Due, endue, etc., not as doo, but as dew. 

Either, etc., not I-ther, but ee-ther. 

Endure, etc., ure as your, not as oor. 

Erred, err like ir in bird, not er-red. 

Espec'ial, not especial. 

Even, ev'n, not ev-en. 

Evil, ev'l, not e-vill or e-vull. 

Formidable, not formidable. 

Gape and gaped, not gape. 
Gospel, not gos-spell, but light el. 
Governor, or not as in for, but as in honor. 

Heaven, heav'n, not heav-en. So with many words end- 
ing in en: but op'-en with very light-en. 
Hos'pitable, not hospit'able. 



WORDS OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED 289 

Implacable, not im-plack'-able. 
Inquir'y, not in'quiry. 
Interesting, not interesting. 
Is'-olate, not I-solate. 

Jerusalem, not JerussJum. 

Lam'entable, not lamentable. 
Lugubrious, not loo-goo-. 

New, not as noo, but as you. 

Often, of n not of-ten. 

Or"-gan-i-za'-tion, not I-zation, but i-zation. 

Pageant, not pa-geant, but padj'-unt. 
Peradventure, per like ir in bird. 
Pre-ce'-dence, not as the word prec'-edents. 
Process, not process. 

Salvation, not shon, but shun, lightly, no accent on sal. 

Saviour, not " yure," but yii, as in Savior. 

Sinew, not as 00, but as yew. 

Staves, not staves (plural of staff). Staves is archaic, or 

plural of a word of different meaning. 
Subtile is sub'-tile, or better sut'l (Cent. Diet.). 
Subtilly is sub-til-ly, or better sut'l-y (Cent. Diet.). 

Towards, not to-wards, but in one syllable like forth. 
Tremendous, dus, not jous. 

Ve'hemently, not vehe'mently. 

Whereof, f as v in C. E. I. W, 3 as f in W. 1 Wr. —Better 
as ov. 

(The above are the principal errors heard in the 

seminaries.) 
19 



290 



APPENDIX 

IV 



PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE QUOTED OR REFERRED 
TO IN THIS BOOK 



Acts 2: 

2: 14-40 

3: 12-26, 7: 

10: 3 . 

10: 34-43 

13: 21 . 

13: 16-41 

15: 13-29 

17: 22-31 

20: 16 . 

22: 1-21 

24: 10-21 

26: 2-29 
Addresses and Sermons of our Lord 



2 Chron. 6: . 

Col. 3: 22 

1 Cor. 2: 13 . 

1 Cor. 13: 

1 Cor. 15: 20-58 



Dan. 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 

Dan. 9: 3-19 
Deut. 12: 13, 14 . 

Ecclesiastes, Book of 

" 1 1 : 9 to 1 

Ecclesiasticus 37 . 
Ephesians 1:3: . 
1: i5- 2 3 
" 2:5 • 



2: 7 



§96,/ 
96, J 
96, J 
59,5 
96, J 
Appendix 1,5 

96, J 
96, 3 
9 6 ,3 
59,5 
96,3 
96,3 
96,3 
96,3 

96,7 

59,5 
9 6,2 
96,2 
9 1 

96, 1 

59, 5 
96,7 
59,5 

96,2 

96, 3 
96,2 
96,2 

Appendix VI, Note m, 1 
. . . . 6 5 ,d 



PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE QUOTED 



291 



Ephesians 2: 11 . 


§59, 5 


Epistles, generally 


96,^ 


Exodus 3: 4: 19: 32: 


96,^ 


" 12: 3 6 . 


59,J 


" 15: • • 


96,5 


Ezekiel 14: . 


9M 


" 18: 19-32 


96,3 


;; 34:3-6 . 


. Appendix VI, Note in, 1 


" 37: . . 


9 6 ,' 


Ezra 9: 6-15 


96,7 


Genesis i: 2: 3: 7: 8: 


15: 22: . . . . 96, 1 




1: 3 


59,J 




1: 1-13 • 


• • . . .65 




18: . 


96,7 




18: 1-15; 24: 


42: 44: ... 9 6 , z 




40: 23 . 


95,^ 




44: . 


• 3i, J, 32, 4 96,5 


Gospels, The, 


96,^ 


Hebrews, Epistle to the 


96,^ 


Hebrews 10: 2 


59,5 


n: 


. 96, z 


Isaiah 1: 


96,4 




5: 20-30 . 


96,J 




9: 8 to 10: 4 


96,3 




24: 2 . 


55 




25: 2 . 


55 




28: 30: 31: 40: 


96,3 




35: • 


96,5 




37: • 


9*>,i 




43: 14-28 . 


. . . . . 96, 4 




44: 9-20 . 


5°,^,9 6 ,J 




44: 9 and 15-20 


56 




52: 13 to 53: 12 


.96,4 




52:55: i-5; 60: 


61: 96,4 



292 APPENDIX 




Isaiah 53: 4 ..... 


•§59, 5 


" 52: 53: 54: 55: 


• 96, J 


St. James 4: 1-5 .... 


. 96,2 


Jeremiah 9: . 




. 96,2 


Job, Book of, 




• 96,5 


;; 1: i-s . . 




. 96,7 


" 4: 13-17 • ■ 


Ex. 8, c, note, 29 


Ex. 2,31 


" 38: 41: • . 




• 96,5 


Joel 2: 1— 11, 3: 9-16 . 




. 96,4 


St. John 1:1 




• 59, 3 


« 3: *l ' 




. 96,2 


4: 26, 27 




• 59,5 


6: 8: . 




• 96, 3 


6: . 




. 96, ;? 


14: 15: 16: 




. 96, 2 


:: ** - 




• 96,7 


ig: 5 




• 59,5* 


" 20: H-18 




• 3i,5 


1 John 4: 




. 96,^ 


" 4: 4 • 




• 59,5 


3 John 




• 96, 3 


Jonah 2: 




• 96,7 


Judges 5: . 




• 96,5 


1 Kings 8: 17: 18: 20-40, 18: 17-46, 19: 


• 9 6 ,5 


"8: 


• 96,7 


18: 27 . 




. Ex. 6, 53 


" 18: 24, 26, 30 




• 59,5 


" 18: 3<>, 37 




• 96,7 


2 Kings 4: 5: 




• 96, ^ 


19: 14-19 




• 96,7 


Lamentations 1: 1-8 




55, 96,4 


St. Luke 1: 46-55 




• 96,5 


2: 16 . 




• 59,5 


2: 1-15 . 




• 95,' 


2: 29-32 




. 95,5 



PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE QUOTED 



293 



St. Luke 4: 26-27 
15: 21 
15: 11-32 
21: 

21: 25-26 
23: 32 . 
23: 39-43 



Append 



Malachi .... 

St. Mark 4: 36 . 
8: 22-26 

" 16:3,4. • • 
St. Matthew 5:1. 

5: 3-12, Beatitudes 

5:2,3 • • 
6: 24-34 . 
18: 3-20 . 
19: 1, 2 . 
23: 24: . 
23: 13-16 . 

2 3: 37-39 • 

25: 23, 26,27 • 

25: 30 



Micah 4 



Numbers 16: 

22: 23: 24: 15-24 
24: 3, 4 • 



1 Peter 2: . 
Prophets, The 
Proverbs, Book of 



Psalms, The 

« u 

Psalm 51 
" 130 
" 130 



24, 121 



Appendix 1, 5 

§3i,5 
65, 6; 96, tf 
96,2 
ix VI, Note in, 1 
59,5 
96,5 



65,(5 



96, J 
59,5 
38 

59, J 
96, 1 

; 96, 2 
52, <? 
96,J 
96, J 
95,' 
96, J 
95,^ 
95,^ 
65, 6 
59,5 
9<5,4 

96,7 

96,5 
52, 8 



9 6,2 
96, 3 

9 6,2 

96,5 

93 

96,7 

65 
Ex. 3, 53 



294 APPENDIX 






Resurrection Story, The 






• § 96, 1 


Revelation i: 7: 14: 15: 


22: 




. 96,7 


;; 7: 9-17 


. 




• 3i,5 


7: 9-12 


. 


Ex 


18: 24 


. 




. 52, 6 


22: 3,4 




. 


• 52, <5 


Romans 8: 27 


. Appendix 


VI, 


Note in, 1 


;; 9:25 . . 


. 


Appendix 1,5 


" 14:13 • • 


Appendix 


VI, 


Note in, 1 


Ruth, Book of 


. 




. 96,7 


1 Samuel 2 . 






• 96,5 


" 3 • • • 


. 




. 96,7 


17: 32-51 • 


• . • 




• 96,5 


2 Samuel i: 


... 




• 93 


1: 19-27 


. 




. 96,5 


12: 4 . 


. 




. 59, 5 


12: 7-12 


... 




• 96, J 


18: 


. 




. 96,5 


Song of Solomon . 


. 




• 96,5 


1 Thessalonians 4: 


. 




• 94 


1 Timothy 6:2. 


. 




. 59, 5 


Wisdom of Solomon 3: i- 


-10 




. 96,* 


Zephaniah 3: 


. 




. 96,4 



V 



THE CARE OF THE VOICE 

1. Preserve good health in digestion, circulation, 
nerve, and muscle. 

2. Secure abundant rest by regular sleep and recrea- 
tion, especially just before vocal effort. 

3. Keep the feet warm and dry and the neck cool. 






THE CARE OF THE VOICE 295 

Thick socks and cork-soled shoes are valuable preven- 
tives of colds and sore throat. 

4. Eat sparingly before vocal exertion. The dia- 
phragm must be free, and the circulation, etc., must be 
concentrated upon the vocal organs. 

5. Depend upon deep, muscular breathing to clear 
and strengthen the voice, instead of stimulants, coffee, 
etc. Use throat lozenges and the like sparingly, and 
only when the throat is inflamed or coated with mucus. 

6. During vocal exertion, rest the organs by frequent 
and thorough relaxation: refresh and strengthen them 
by deep breathing, as opportunity occurs. 

7. When suffering from a cold, place the voice more 
forward than usual so as to save irritation of the pharynx. 
Use light, thin tones, if cold is severe, to ease the vocal 
cords. Use simple remedies at home, such as wrapping 
the throat with dry woollen, or packing it with hot or 
cold wet cloths, at night. If these are not efficacious, 
and throat trouble persists, go to a physician. Spraying 
the throat and bronchial tubes from a powerful con- 
denser, such as throat- specialists use, will often cure a 
severe hoarseness, and stop a hacking cough. 

8. If smoking irritates the throat, abandon the habit. 
" Inhaling " is instantly and seriously injurious. 

9. Avoid the use of any mechanical means, tubes to 
blow into, etc., for strengthening the voice. They may 
do injury, and the muscular system is all-sufficient for 
this purpose, if fully and naturally developed. 

10. Do all public speaking and reading with energy 
and earnestness. Indolent action and a dull spirit mis- 
place the tone and make it lifeless and wearing to speaker 
and hearer. 



296 APPENDIX 

11. Guard against vociferous singing, and the forcing 
of notes too high or too low for the natural compass, as 
one would guard against a knife thrust at his throat. 
Injudicious chapel singing is the greatest hindrance to 
the preservation and development of pure tone, in 
our seminaries. But refined, moderate, and, especially, 
cultivated singing is a constant help to the speaking 
voice. 

12. For continued development of the voice, practise, 
daily: 

1. Muscular exercises, § 24. 

2. Breathing exercises, 6 and 7, § 25. 
j. Tone-production exercises, § 28. 

4. Resonance exercises, § 29. 

5. Placing exercises, § 30. 

6. Tone-color exercises, § 31. 

VI 

NOTE I. — HENRY WARD BEECHER'S ELOCUTION- 
ARY TRAINING 

" Mr. Beecher had remarkable elocutionary gifts. He 
gave me once an account of the methods which he pur- 
sued in his boyhood, when under a skilled elocutionist 
(John Lovell). He spent sometimes an hour at a time 
simply practising the use of the vowel o, with its varied 
intonations, or took a posture at a chalkmark on the floor 
and went through varied gestures, exercising each move- 
ment of the arm under his instructor's direction, as he 
was told how far the arm should come forward, where it 
should start from, how far go back, and under what cir- 
cumstances these movements should be made. Whatever 



APPENDIX 297 

stiffness and artificiality such drill might have at first 
produced had entirely disappeared by the time Mr. 
Beecher came to Brooklyn; for the effects of this drill 
made ease, flexibility, and variety of voice and move- 
ment a second nature to him. His voice, his arms, his 
whole body, and in some sense pre-eminently his face, 
were the quick and potent servants of his alert mind." 
— Life of Henry Ward Beecher ', by Dr. Lyman Abbott. 

NOTE II. 

"Archilochum proprio rabies armavit iambo. 
Hunc socci cepere pedem, grandesque cothurni, 
Alternis aptum sermonibus, et populares 
Vincentem strepitus, et natum rebus agendis." 

Horace, Ars Poetica, 79-82. 

"Archilochus found for his fury's heat 
A vent in the Iambus' rapid beat; 
The sock and stately buskin took to it, 
As for the play of dialogue most fit, 
A measure framed for action's rapid rush, 
And the loud uproar of a crowd to hush." 

Sir Theodore Martin's translation. 

NOTE III. 

1. Good judgment, thorough analysis of the meaning, 
and a correct ear are necessary in order to make proper 
phrasing by the rhythmic pauses, or sometimes, by their 
equivalent, the rhythmic emphasis. For instance, it is 
generally incorrect to make pauses of uniform length 
after successive verses in reading a chapter of the Bible. 



298 APPENDIX 

The verses, especially in the New Testament, may make 
arbitrary interruptions in what should be read as a con- 
tinued paragraph. For illustration, take Ezekiel 34: 
3-6, which should be read as one paragraph, with less 
pause between those verses than between the 2d and 3d 
or between the 6th and 7th. Luke 21: 25-26 should be 
read as one verse. Ephesians 1 : 15-23 should be read 
as one paragraph with no verse pauses. 

2. On the other hand, many pauses are needed, to give 
sense and rhythm, where the punctuation does not indi- 
cate them. E. g. y Romans 14 : 13 . . . "that no 
man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall | in his 
brother's way." Without a phrasing at " fall," the ex- 
pression is ambiguous. So, also, Romans 8: 27 should 
be phrased thus : " And he that searcheth the hearts | 
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, | because he 
maketh intercession for the saints | according to the will 
of God." 

For illustration from secular writing, we may take : 
" The secret which the murderer possesses | soon comes 
to possess him." rt He thinks the whole world | sees it 
in his face, reads it in his eyes," etc. " The fatal secret \ 
struggles with still greater violence | to burst forth." — 
From The Murderer's Conscience, Webster, page 58. 



